Goodbye is Not the End
by wolf's lament
Summary: With Dranzer's destruction after his battle with Brooklyn, Kai decides to start again. However, when dark forces are released near White Tiger Hills, Kai, unexpectedly joined by Hilary, must stop them by finding the courage to fight again.
1. Goodbye

_**Goodbye**_

Darkness clouded his vision, however he could tell that there was nothing to see really. Just a bunch of meaningless faces and objects: memories; nothing really mattered anymore, so what was the point in trying? He waited between living and death, wondering if he would just topple over the edge and fade away into oblivion. He did not know anymore, but it didn't matter since in the back of his mind he knew his eventual fate.

Memories danced across his mind and friends came to the teen's side as if pleading with him to stay with them just a bit longer. In his mind they smiled and laughed and ran around his still body trying to convince him to join in the fun. For once, he really wanted to… the boy who usually liked being alone wanted to share their joy, but it was impossible. There was no way he could fight the cold feeling inside of him for much longer. He was drowning in darkness about to finally run out of air and in the end he could do nothing about it.

If he could have cried he would have. All of those regrets; all the things that he had wanted to get done or put right would never happen. He knew with almost certainty that he would never be able to tell them how much he had appreciated everything they did. The teen had not felt fear in a long time, but he did now. What would be said about him when he was gone? Did any of them really care in the end? He knew it was selfish of him, but it did not stop him from wondering.

He had come close to death several times, from the cold ice to the relentless darkness, but in some ways he thought it was ironic that he will die at the hands of his own element. He had given everything to that last battle and he had given his close friends the courage they needed to finish the fight. This is it then, in the back of his mind there was a voice telling him that he should be satisfied for what he had sacrificed; without any regret about what will happen.

"The problem is that I am selfish and I do regret my victory because I want to live. I still want to be considered immortal, the one who has always slips away from death, but I guess it seems that my time is up." He thought pragmatically.

There was no white light at the end, but there was no darkness either. It was just empty and part of him would have given anything to get away from that approaching feeling of death. It was if his calls and prayers were answered when a warm body pressed up against his own cold skin, wrapping itself around the fragile boy that lay between life and death. The boy was able to manage a smile because of the familiarity of its touch as he felt himself being dragged from Death's talons only seconds later to feel the warmth disappear from around his body, being replaced with a cool breeze.

Finally opening his eyes, Kai saw blurs of orange and red falling outside of what he could tell was a window to the blank room he was in. He could faintly hear someone snoring not too far away, which seemed to increase in volume as his senses returned to him. It was maybe minutes or hours before Kai gained enough awareness back to distinguish the sharper details of the room and smell the light breeze barely coming into the disinfected room. He was still alive and in that moment he was probably the happiest that he had felt in a long time, or he would have been if there was not a foreboding feeling inside of him; like something had been ripped from his soul when he was brought back to life.

Eyes opened slowly to the darkness around him. Kai was still haunted by that nightmare, but the worst part was that it was also a memory of what had happened to him only a few weeks ago. The scars were still visible on his body and he could still feel the emptiness in his soul where one of the most precious things in his life had resided. Turning on his side he looked over to a watch that was attached to an arm hanging out of a sleeping bag; 3:30 am. He groaned rolling onto his side before standing up and silently walking out of the room.

There was no moon to light the outside as he stepped out into the dark, but the stars seemed to be brighter because of it. The cool late autumn wind wrapped itself around him, cooling down his sweat-soaked body, causing him to shiver as he stood barefoot in the garden. His feet felt like they were frozen even after a few minutes, but it was worth it even if it only temporarily got rid of the pain he felt. Finally clearing his head a bit he walked back inside and settled in his sleeping bag for another few hours of disturbed sleep.

* * *

"…if anything Kai's getting worse."

"I know boys, but there's nothing I can do for him. He needs our support and that is what you kids can do to help him. I'm sure he would very much appreciate it."

For the second time that day, crimson eyes opened to his surroundings. Light poured in through the windows, but none of it touched the sole figure in the room. The Bladebreakers were talking about him; how he never seemed to be well enough to do anything. Sighing in resignation, the teen sat up in bed, catching the attention of the others in the next room who immediately became quiet.

It had been the same ever since he had come back from the hospital (after they had realised he should never have been at Brooklyn's battle due to his injuries). He watched their worried glances and saddened faces as he refused to do anything with them. It was too late for them to bring him back. He had to go off on his own and the worst part for them was that they knew it.

"Hey Kai I'm glad you're awake. I made breakfast if you're interested." Ray said as he poked his head around the door, his hair looking slightly more violet with the morning rays hitting each strand on the top of his head.

"Sure." Though Kai answered more out of habit than actually being hungry.

Kai sat down at the table where minutes before Tyson, Ray, Max, Kenny and Mr. Dickinson had been talking about him. All but Ray were still sitting there, looking slightly out of place where they were in front of him. He hardly blamed them, after all they were watching their former captain lose the battle that he had fought so hard to overcome and win. His victory against Brooklyn had been a great triumph for beyblade, but he only felt hollow.

"Hey guys!" The horrible silence was broken by the cheerfully high voice of none other than Hilary Tatibana.

Kai's eyes sluggishly shifted towards her as if silently asking why she was so happy. Even the others were giving her similar looks. As she looked around at each of them, retaining her gaze on him, the same smile remained (though looking closely Kai could see it was more forced than when she had entered).

"Have I interrupted something important?" She asked as her eyes shifted to Mr Dickinson, feeling the slight tension in the room that wrapped itself loosely around every one of the occupants.

"No, of course not. We were actually just sitting down to have some breakfast now that Kai's awake."

If Hilary had processed what Mr Dickinson had just insinuated about Kai getting up so late, she did not make a single movement to show that she had registered its strangeness. Instead, she sat down with the rest of the boys at the table as Ray brought over the last of the breakfast plates.

They ate in silence, which in the past would have been wonderful for Kai. The unfortunate reason for the silence was one that made everyone feel uncomfortable, yet no one knew how to say anything without doing even more damage to the teen who had yet to put his eating utensils anywhere near his mouth. Everyone had their eye on him as he stirred the contents of his plate around and around, not really caring about their opinion of the situation.

Closing his eyes in order not to see all the concerned faces he pushed back his chair and walked outside, hiding the guilt and shame with a look of boredom. He slipped on his shoes before stepping outside and quickly breaking into a sprint as he made his way from the dojo; from the pain and the guilt; from the fake smiles and pitying looks. There was nothing that he could do to stop them from worrying about him, because he did not even know how to help himself get better.

After not paying attention to his surroundings for some time he finally looked up. Kai's gasp of shock was almost unheard by himself as he realised where he was.

"_Dad hurry up!" A little boy shouted back to his father as he ran into the clearing._

"_I thought I just said that I would help you understand the art of patience?"_

Kai watched the opaque boy being followed by his similarly see-through father walking behind him. The man's face was slightly blurred, but he was laughing as his son ran over and dragged him to the clearing, holding a beyblade attached to a launcher in his other hand.

"_But Dad I am patient!" The boy countered._

_The man laughed, "Alright then. Are you ready Kai?"_

"Kai!"

The image disappeared with the shout of a voice behind him. The corner of Kai's mouth twitched into a smile before answering the voice. "I thought no one would find me here."

"Everyone's very worried about you Kai." Mr Dickinson said between breaths as he walked up behind the boy, "I am especially. I've known you a long time and I have never seen you upset for so long about something."

"Yeah." The answer was barely a whisper and he knew that the old man behind him had not heard, but the next statement was loud enough to hear. "I want to leave."

He felt the grip on his shoulder tighten, "What makes you want to leave?"

"I have nothing to gain by staying here Mr Dickinson. BEGA is gone and each of the Bladebreakers is now a champion. I am no longer needed, sir." He seemed to add at the end as an afterthought.

"Kai how can you say…"

"How can I not?" Kai exclaimed as he turned around to face Mr Dickinson. "I was never supposed to be a champion. I was supposed to collect bit beasts for my grandfather and lose to your team." He turned his head away from the old man in shame, "I was never meant to be a Bladebreaker."

Kai turned his back to Mr Dickinson and walked away, but not before the old man got in the final word, "I'll pay for you to go anywhere you want. Before you argue, I am not doing this because I am guilty or for something in return. I am doing this because I want you to enjoy your life and for you to think of it as a thank you for being there when I needed you."

During this time Kai had stopped. "I would like to go to China."

"I'll tell you when your flight is as soon as I can." As Mr Dickinson watched Kai walk away he smiled, but it did not reach his eyes, wondering if he had really seen the famous Kai Hiwatari beyblade for the last time.

* * *

Kai lay in bed unable to get to sleep. He looked over to the window where the moon could just be seen in the corner of the frame. Part of him really hoped that this was not the end, but there was another part that reminded him that he should never have gone this far in the first place.

"_I invented the word possible."_

He had had too many lucky breaks with everything in life and this was his opportunity to pay the price for getting it so easy. He wanted to start over after all of this and China was a place to start.

The sun was not even above the horizon, but Kai was awake. Having barely had any sleep, Kai finally decided to get up, knowing full well that it was less than likely he would get any more sleep than he had. He sat outside on the porch as the sun rose above the sleeping town and that is where he was when Mr Dickinson finally arrived.

"Are you sure you want to leave?"

Kai looked into Mr Dickinson's eyes before nodding. He just wanted to forget what had happened.

* * *

"We are almost ready to take off. If passengers can make their way to their seats as quickly as possible we will be on our way."

Kai was staring out the window of the plane, still wondering if this was the right thing to do… no, that was not the real issue. He knew that leaving his friends without saying goodbye was wrong, but part of him had been afraid they would be able to convince him to stay if he told them. He didn't want to be talked out of this.

"Excuse me, but can you move your bag please?" A feminine voice asked.

Kai's bag had been on the seat next to him, so he guessed that someone was sitting there. A pity. The last thing he needed was to have someone questioning him the whole trip over. He just had to hope this girl was not a crazed fan of him or beyblade.

As he removed his bag from the seat he looked up at the girl's face. He almost dropped the bag as he looked at her face in shock. The girl smiled at his expression as his brain finally caught up with his mouth.

"Hilary."

* * *

**Edited 07/07/11**


	2. Hilary's Resolve

**Those who have read this story before: the only new part is the beginning of the chapter (the bit in italics). The rest has been edited for flow, but nothing more.**

* * *

_**Hilary's Resolve**_

"_Glad to see you're awake, Kai."_

_Kai opened his eyes, but quickly realised one of his eyes was covered. He reached up to touch it, only to feel cloth bandages under his fingertips. Letting his hand fall down, Kai turned to look towards the voice he heard._

_Romero of F-Dynasty stood looking down at him with a proud smile on his face. He picked up a glass of water and walked over to the couch that Kai was laid out on._

"_Here, get some liquid in you."_

_He set down the glass by the bed and knelt on part of it, so he could pull Kai up into a sitting position. Kai grit his teeth against the pain on his chest and down his arm, his breathing giving away his distress._

_However, Romero kept one arm behind him and used the other to pick up the water and ease it into Kai's hands. With Romero still supporting the glass, Kai slowly brought it to his lips and took small sips. The pain in his chest and arms started easing off, but with that came an awareness of another feeling. It was like a fire burning in his chest, around his heart. He placed the now empty glass on the ground and put a hand on his chest in confusion._

"_So you feel it."_

_Puzzled, Kai glanced at Romero who looked at the boy in concern. Kai let his hand fall into his lap and looked at the television screen that was giving the scores of the Justice 5 tournament. Romero rearranged the pillows behind him, so that Kai could sit up comfortably._

"_What happened?"_

_Romero stepped back and gave Kai a once-over before pulling up a chair and sitting down. As the silence continued Kai turned his head to look pointedly at Romero. He was not going to accept anything except the truth._

_Finally Romero sighed in resignation, "You defeated Brooklyn, but used up everything to finish it. You collapsed in the hallway."_

_When Romero paused, Kai looked into his lap._

"_You should be dead, Kai."_

_Kai only managed to nod in response. After all it was the truth._

"_When they found you, you were against the wall and Dranzer was shattered behind you. Your bit beast gave up the last of its energy to keep you alive."_

_Kai licked his lips, "I see."_

_Romero let out another sigh, "I don't think you do. She didn't have much left after that battle. You're still fragile and both of you could survive this, but you must take it easy. Dranzer's bit was shattered, but if you recover then there is a possibly for us to find a way to repair it."_

_Kai nodded, showing he had heard. "Did Tyson beat Garland?"_

"_Yes, tomorrow there's one match where he'll be fighting whoever BEGA choose."_

"_Brooklyn."_

_Romero paused, puzzled, "I doubt it. He was in pretty bad shape after your victory, why would Hiro choose someone who lost his match?"_

"_Because Brooklyn is a genius; I've trained all my life and barely beat him. Now he has someone to beat he'll start practising. Plus I felt the darkness in him; I've felt it before. He won't stop until he destroys everyone or someone stops him."_

"_Speaking from experience?"_

_Kai thought back to Black Dranzer and felt a bitter smirk crawl across his face. "As a matter of fact."_

_The two suddenly turned to look at the television when it looked as if they were getting ready to announce the match. Romero stood up with a smile._

"_Well I'd better get going." His expression then turned serious. "Kai please stay here. I know your friends will be upset if something happens to you. Think of them if you won't consider your own health."_

_The door closed and at first Kai was willing to stay and watch from where he was, but the moment he saw what Brooklyn had become he knew he would have to do something._

"_I'm sorry Dranzer. Maybe after this you can find your rightful master."_

* * *

Hilary sat listening to Mr Dickinson's voice as she sat in the car next to him. Her head was resting on her hand, which was propped up on the window. Buildings and cars forced their way past her view, because there were so many important things going on around her that she had no idea about.

Her voice, quiet and unsure, interrupted Mr Dickinson's explanation, "Why me? Is it because I am the one that is needed here the least?"

"That's not the reason." Mr Dickinson tried to reassure, but he offered no alternative reason and before long, they descended into an uncomfortable silence.

Hilary could just barely see Mr Dickinson's face reflected in the glass as she continued to stare at the window. He was probably thinking of what to say without upsetting her. She decided to wait patiently until he said something; after all, she wanted an answer.

"You are the only friend who I think would not intimidate him." Hilary turned around quickly to face Mr Dickinson, her eyes burning and her mouth ready to snap back an angry retort when she saw he was far from done.

"The others are Kai's friends, but they are also beybladers, in other words they are his competition. At this moment in time I do not think it would be wise for Kai to be reminded about beyblading or the fact he is no longer as strong as them. Kai's ego is more fragile than he admits."

"What about Kenny? Kai's known him longer and _he_ isn't a strong a beyblader as Kai." Hilary feebly argued, almost knowing the answer that was to come.

"Kenny is still connected to beyblading and Kai wants all of his ties to the sport broken."

Hilary, who could no longer hold Mr Dickinson's gaze, looked back out the window before asking her next question, "Why does he want to forget?"

"I cannot tell you everything, I will leave that up to Kai himself, but he was never meant to be a champion beyblader and that is plaguing him because he believes he was never worthy of the others in a sense."

Hilary's head shot up, "How can he think that? It's not like the others had been specifically picked above him."

Her annoyance at Kai turned to confusion when Mr Dickinson looked away, "The Bladebreakers were supposed to consist of Tyson, Ray, Max and Kenny, plus another who I had had my eye on around that time.

"A year before I held the tournament with them in order to form the team, a beyblader with amazing force and power battled his way through the tournament and destroyed everyone in his way. I had seen power like that from the limited information we had on the Demolition Boys, but the boy had little idea of how to control it. I decided to make him a member of the new BBA team instead of one of the original intended beybladers."

"That's it? You told him that he was not supposed to be on the original team?"

"No, Kai figured it out on his own when he saw how easily the others worked together from the start while he had a small place in the battles. He confronted me about it and I told him the truth, knowing that it would be worse if he found out at a later date. Kai had never intended to be a beyblader, but I think he should tell you why he didn't and why ultimately he changed his mind."

Hilary nodded and the car descended back into silence. However, it was not long before Hilary spoke again, "He won't want me there, will he, sir?"

Mr Dickinson shook his head, "No, not at first, but I am hoping that the two of you will find a way to work together to help him."

Hilary gripped the cream jacket that was lying next to her, trying to convince herself that this was the right thing to do, to help Kai after he had saved her life twice, but the worrying question that kept on haunting her mind was did he want it?

* * *

"Welcome aboard." Hilary smiled at the steward who had just given back her ticket and pointed to the isle where she would find the seat she was supposed to sit in.

There was a certain nervousness inside of her at the thought of having to walk up to Kai and say, "Hey Kai, Mr Dickinson set you up so I could go with you, isn't that great?" She sighed, hoping Kai would not try and lose her in a country where she couldn't speak the language as soon as they touched down, although she had a feeling that was exactly what was going to happen.

"We are almost ready to take off. If passengers can make their way to their seats as quickly as possible we will be on our way."

Hilary slowly made her way towards the back of the plane, squeezing past various people putting their bags away in order to get to her seat. She was dreading having to sit next to Kai for the whole trip, because she had a feeling the silence from him would drive her insane- the exact opposite of Tyson's constant chatter, Hilary noted in her head.

Kai was staring out the window of the plane as she approached the seat. Part of her was thankful she did not have his full glare yet, but as she watched him she could not help but notice he looked very different from the warrior who had taken down Brooklyn, the king of darkness.

As she came up to her seat she noticed his bag was on it. Taking in a deep breath she decided to make her presence known, "Excuse me, but can you move your bag please?"

She watched his previous expression turn into a frown as he continued to look at the window. Hilary watched cautiously as he grabbed the bag from off the seat and looked up at her. Subconsciously she held her breath ready for what his reaction would be to her.

"Hilary."

His eyes widened and his mouth parted minutely in shock, but it was more of a reaction that she had seen from him in a while. In fact, she probably would have laughed if she was not so worried about what was going to happen after he got over his initial shock. Attempting to hide her nervousness she tried to act casual.

"Do you mind if I sit down?"

Kai's mouth snapped shut, but he didn't actually respond. Deliberately interpreting his silence as acquiescence, he placed her bag under her seat and slowly fastened her seatbelt, all this time knowing that Kai was still staring at her. When she had finished settling down he seemed to finally gain control of the situation.

"What are you doing here?" His voice was harsh and Hilary had to stop herself from flinching at the tone, after all, she should have been ready for this.

"I…I wanted…to help." She continued to stare at her feet as she waited for his reaction.

"I don't _need_ help." Kai answered, Hilary could just imagine the outraged look on his face.

Hilary chewed her lip for a moment before whispering a reply, "But you do."

She couldn't tell if he had heard her or not over the roar of the engines, but the silence stretched on, seeming to signal the end of the conversation. The rest of the journey was taken up by an awkward silence that neither seemed to be able to break, even if they wanted to.

* * *

"Welcome to China." Hilary bowed in gratitude as she took back her passport from the desk at passport control.

She began to run through the airport in order to catch up with Kai (receiving many disapproving looks from other travellers in the area), and silently wishing that her bag would come off first so that there was no chance of him ditching her.

As she approached the appropriate location to find her bag she looked around hoping that he had not already left, after all – she reminded herself – Kai had sped off in front of her so there was no chance that he was behind her. As more and more bags came off the ramp – none of which were hers – her heart sank in disappointment at not being able to find him, meaning he had already left. She had known that he was not going to be pleased with her arrival, but she had hoped he would not have minded, since she was now with him. Hilary bit her lip as tears of frustration and rejection threatened to fall in front of hundreds of people.

"Did you really think I wouldn't wait for you?"

Hilary turned around in surprise to see Kai standing behind her not only carrying his bag and suitcase, but on his other side was her pastel pink suitcase.

"Your name was on it and I happened to be looking for my own at the time." He defended.

Walking up to him she took the suitcase into her hand and smiled, looking up to his face, "Thank you."

His eyes met with hers in silent acknowledgement before walking past her. He turned his head to glance at her, looking slightly annoyed, "Are you coming or not?"

Grinning at how relatively quickly she had been accepted onto Kai's journey, she had to stop herself from skipping over to his side before the two walked out of the airport and into China.

* * *

**Edited 07/07/11**


	3. In His Shadow

**Ok so this is where things really start diverging. You'll still see a lot of similar elements, but this will become less and less as the story goes on. Also please note I don't know Hong Kong very well at all, but I'm assuming they're taking public transport between locations and walking from there.  
**

* * *

_**In His Shadow  
**_

If Mr Dickinson had been anywhere near him when Hilary had approached his seat Kai would have killed the old man. It was not that Kai was ungrateful for the man's help, but manipulation was not something he appreciated. Hilary was nice, but that didn't mean that he wanted her to follow him around like a fan-girl.

Despite his annoyance, passers-by would probably not have suspected his foul mood. The teen glided along the streets, weaving between people in the crowded streets as if he had always known his way around the area and glancing back every so often in order to make sure his 'guest' was keeping up. As annoying as it was having her with him, Kai knew losing Hilary in a big city she had never visited was not exactly sociable behaviour.

He needed to sort out what his next move was, because although he wouldn't admit it to anyone, he was just going along without any sort of plan. Then again, part of him wondered if he ever had been thinking clearly. It was somewhat painful to admit to himself that he was just used to following orders.

"Umm, Kai? Can we please stop soon?"

Kai, having already forgotten about the girl behind him, turned around to see her face pouring with sweat and her whole figure looking smaller as she tried to stand against the exhaustion that had seemed to hit her like a great tidal wave. She was mostly leaning against her suitcase, which had been quite a bit heavier than Kai's duffle bag. Kai sighed in annoyance at the whole situation. Of course Mr Dickinson wouldn't have let him go off on his own on the BBA's money.

Glancing at Hilary catching her breath against a nearby building – and thus far enough out of the way of the busy traffic – he quickly realised that he may be able to survive just wondering around, but would she? There had been a reason why he had requested to travel alone, but now he had her along he would have to plan better, or at least drop her off at a hotel and make sure she could get back to Japan.

Walking to the wall Hilary was leaning against, Kai set his bag down next to him and leaned his back against it. Taking this as a sign that he was not going to rush off again into the crowds, Hilary half-collapsed onto the ground. She continued to sit as drops of sweat slid slowly down her face and fell onto the hot concrete beneath them. Feeling slightly guilty, Kai produced a bottle of water from his bag and handed it to the dehydrated girl. She looked up at him in a daze before taking the bottle and guzzling its contents within a few seconds, splashing a small amount onto her face in an attempt to cool down.

Turning her head to look up at Kai, she grinned sheepishly, already seeming more refreshed, "I hope you didn't want any."

Kai shook his head in negation, before taking back the empty bottle. Not really caring about some people who stared at the two of them as they passed by, he sat down next to Hilary, looking half-heartedly at the bottle while listening as her heavy breathing became quieter as more time passed.

The two sat in relative silence for a few more minutes, for little reason other than to rest a bit longer. People talked loudly on their phones, while others jostled and pushed their way through in an attempt to get to their destinations faster. It was practically the same in any major city. No one seemed to have any spare time.

* * *

The two eventually travelled to what was the business area of the city. Tall steel and glass buildings rose above them and Kai could practically feel the awe on Hilary's face as they walked the rest of the way to their destination. There were some apartments amongst the business blocks, which is why they were there. Finally, partially dreading their arrival, they reached a tall building with two guards on the outside restricting access.

He waited for Hilary to stop next to him and watched as her face turned to one of puzzlement at the sign in front of them that read 'Hiwatari Enterprises.' She turned her head to him face him in silent question, giving him the option of withholding an explanation. He did; choosing instead to nod at the guards, who recognised the future head of the company, and walk in.

Once inside Kai did not even stop as he nodded to receptionist and walked over the elevator. Hilary looked uneasy as she walked past the two security guards at the front, but they stayed in place as she made her way to the elevator where Kai was waiting, almost scurrying past the receptionist who gave Kai a narrowed look. The young Hiwatari almost rolled his eyes, as if he would give his grandfather's company any more bad press by having an underage relationship.

Kai pulled out a key from his pocket and inserted it into a keyhole that was next to the highest number on the board. He turned the key before pressing the button for the top floor and they listened to the whirring noise of the elevator starting to move. There was a slight jump next to him as Hilary felt the elevator start to go up. The chime of a bell told them they had arrived and Kai prepared himself for her reaction as the doors opened.

He had been in the room several times before for other reasons, usually to do with the company if his grandfather needed someone to attend something deemed important for the company that seemed unworthy of the chairman's time. It always reminded him that no matter how far away he got from the old man he would always come back like an obedient puppy.

"Not anymore." His thoughts reminded him.

"Kai are you alright?" Hilary asked him, probably noticing his discomfort.

Without so much as a response to her question, he took her suitcase and pulled his own back further up his shoulder, being careful not to look at her face, and walked into the suite.

Everything was just as he had left it last time. The dominant colours were white and cream to make the main room, which contained the kitchen, living room and dining room, appear much bigger than it actually was. Despite the what someone would expect from a white room, it looked as if everything was completely new, free from grubby marks or stains, but in reality the spotlessness of the apartment was just to cover up the mess of the family. Kai and his grandfather had continued to stay on bad terms since the first World Championships, but they were still family so they found ways of getting along. This of course resulted in them avoiding each other for the past couple of years and only speaking to each other when it was absolutely necessary, since Kai was still supposed to be taking over the company when he was of the right age.

He set her bag in front of one of the doors before turning to look at her, "This is your room. There's an en-suit bathroom and I'll be in this room if you need anything." He added motioning to the door next to hers a bit further down.

She gripped the handle of her suitcase and opened the door before she turned to Kai, "Thanks a lot, Kai. I know you didn't want me along."

Kai shrugged, not very interested in receiving thanks for anything he had done so far. "You can stay here as long as you like. I'll contact Mr Dickinson in the morning and get him to send you a ticket home so that you can have a chance to visit the city first."

Hilary, who had been nodding along to everything Kai was saying suddenly stopped, and turned to face him with a look of rage on her face, "Wait, what?"

Kai barely resisted pinching the bridge of his nose to stop the impending headache. "Hilary…"

"No!" She shouted, cutting him off (much to Kai's annoyance), "You're unbelievable! Did you think I came here just to have an excuse to see a city? We want to help you, Kai; me, Tyson, Ray, Max, Kenny and even Daichi. You can't just shut us all out because you lost Dranzer. I'm here because you need a friend and you're too stubborn to admit it."

Kai made sure his face stayed carefully blank as he used his full height to his advantage and looked down at the girl. He watched as she shrunk back slightly, eyes widened in fear, before he replied in a flat tone, "I didn't ask for you to come. Don't pretend you know me just because Tyson felt sorry for you and took you in."

He then turned sharply away from her, but not fast enough to miss the look of shock on her face. He also didn't miss the tears forming at the corners of her eyes and her lips pressed into a thin line. But he ignored all of it; he had bigger things to worry about than a girl's feelings.

"I'll call Mr Dickinson tomorrow." He reiterated, not even bothering to glance back at her before he walked to his room and slammed the door behind him.

Kai's eyes found their way to the ceiling, though he was barely registering what he was looking at. His shoulders leaned back against the door and were slowly followed by his head. His hands had squeezed into fists at his side, shaking with barely contained anger. It took a few more deep breaths before he finally calmed down enough to pick up his bag from where he had dropped it on the floor and move it onto the bed before sitting down next to it. A long, annoyed sigh escaped through his nose and he turned to look towards the window where amber rays slowly changed to crimson as they grew slowly along any surface that was in their way in an attempt to bring some light into the room.

He reached into his pocket, half expecting to feel the heat of his beyblade as Dranzer chastised him for turning his back on the girl, but instead his hand only grasped air and Kai put his head in his hands in anger. What he really wanted was to scream out his frustrations at this whole situation. This was not helped by the claustrophobic feel to the room, as if it was glaring at him; despising his very existence, just like his grandfather.

The old man had never forgiven him for his betrayal at the Beyblade World Championships. They occasionally lived in the same house when neither of them was out of the country, but they still never spoke to one another. Their lack of communication was made even easier by the fact that Kai would normally stay in his dorm or at Tyson's during the holidays. He could not bear being in the same room as the man because ultimately he would always start to second-guess himself. Had he really done the right thing?

Yes. What BIOVOLT had been doing was wrong. They were going to take over the world and destroy everything they cared about. His grandfather had given Boris the okay to experiment on the students who looked up to him, including himself. Voltaire only wanted someone to take over the family business who he could manipulate into being the perfect puppet when the old man finally retired.

No. The only loyalties he had ever had after his father had left had been to his grandfather and Kai had thrown away any chance he had of being respected by his family, since love seemed to be something he had to earn.

Kai collapsed back onto his bed, pulled out his MP3 player and listened to some music, turning the volume up and closing his eyes in order to completely lose himself. First, he would make sure Hilary was safely sent back to Japan and then he would get out of Hong Kong before Mr Dickinson could set someone else on him.

* * *

**Edited: 07/07/11**


	4. Family Ties

_**Family Ties****  
**_

Hilary stood in what would normally be a brilliant white 'living room area,' since there were not any doors or walls to separate it from the small dining room and the kitchen just beyond. At this time, however, the room was painted with beautiful golds and reds and other colours of fire from the setting sun shining through the windows.

At first she had stayed in her room, not wanting to even think about how bad this had become, but she found it too depressing sitting alone just looking around so instead she stepped out here. Now she was afraid to touch any of the fabrics just in case she got dirt on them, so instead she stood awkwardly clutching a small bag with some essentials in it.

Standing there with nothing to do only brought back her melancholy mood. While she had known that Kai was not going to appreciate her tagging along, she hadn't thought his reaction would be this bad. Kai's mood seemed to be ranging between indifference to open hostility towards her. Glancing around the room and noting that Kai seemed determined to stay in his room, Hilary decided to look around in an attempt to relieve her boredom.

There was little to see around the apartment building, and while the view was amazing it did little to relieve her boredom. It was then that she decided to search the drawers, hoping to maybe find a deck of cards or a book to keep her occupied. The apartment had the elevator access on one side which opened to view the main part of the house with doors off leading to what Hilary assumed were other bedrooms (of which there were three including hers). The other side was more interesting, having an opening to what turned out to be a long, darkened hallway on the other side. There was a room close to her and another at the end of the hallway. Picking between the two, she thought the latter room showed more promise (even though there seemed to be no difference on the outside) and opened the door.

Stepping into what looked like a study, Hilary found herself in what appeared to be the only room that wasn't completely white. Quite the contrary, the room was filled with dark wooden bookcases and the inside of the door as well as any walls that were not covered in books were made of dark wood. In front of her was a dark wood desk with a chair facing in her direction. The room looked completely out of place compared to the rest of the rooms she had been in.

A quick glance outside made sure that Kai was still in his room. Hilary had a feeling she wasn't supposed to be in here, but her curiosity was piqued and her initial boredom was forgotten. Stepping towards the desk, Hilary noticed a picture frame facing away from her on the surface. Instead of picking it up, she carefully moved around the desk so that she was facing the door and the picture.

Hilary couldn't help the gasp of shock that followed seeing a young, smiling Kai, who looked about five or six, seated on a woman's lap. She had light blue-grey hair, much like Kai's own and a soft smile on her face. Behind her was someone Hilary recognised from the news: Voltaire Hiwatari – said to be the richest business tycoon in all of Japan, but who had recently not been appearing in public as usual due to some investment error a couple of years back. As Hilary looked more closely at the picture she realised that one side had been cut crudely, though it was difficult to see since the background was the same as the back of the picture. Lifting up the frame she squinted at the cut, wondering what had been there before.

She almost dropped the picture when a sound came from Kai's bedroom. Setting the picture down carefully, Hilary wondered if she should mention it to Kai. Why had he not mentioned Voltaire at least? How was he related to the man? From the picture the two seemed to be relatives. There was little time to contemplate it further as Hilary rushed out of the room, making sure to close the door softly lest she alert Kai to her snooping. She stepped away from the door just in time for Kai to walk around the corner and look straight at her.

Neither seemed very willing to apologise to the other for the things that had been said. Hilary remembered Kai's words and the anger and humiliation she had felt when he said them. Had he always thought so little of her?

It seemed as if Kai was just as unwilling to speak to her, but whether it was out of guilt or residual anger Hilary was unsure. Finally, he turned his face away from her and towards the rest of the house. Hilary followed him back and fought back a wince when she watched him sit down on one of the sofas, even though his clothes were dirty from their journey. He looked up at her and raised an eyebrow in silent question at her behaviour as he lounged back.

"You know you can sit down."

Hilary smiled awkwardly and blushed, "It's just that they're so clean."

Hilary walked over one of the soft chairs and perched herself on it in hopes that she would keep it as clean as possible.

"So, uhh…" Hilary started, wondering how to start a conversation with Kai, "is this place yours then?"

Kai looked at her for what felt like forever before he looked down at the glass table in front of them. "It belongs to the company, which belongs to my grandfather."

"You mean Voltaire?"

Hilary held her breath as Kai's eyes flicked over to stare at her and for a few minutes she wondered if Kai was angry that she had been snooping around. Then when she thought he was going to yell at her or something, he shrugged and crossed his arms over his chest.

"That's him. Tyson tell you about him?"

"Honestly? Not really, but I heard about him in the news." Hilary admitted, becoming a bit more relaxed with a topic of conversation, "Did he have something to do with the World Championships in Russia?"

Kai gave a grunt of confirmation, his eyes slipping back towards the table but this time they looked as if they were staring through it into the past. While feeling nervous, Hilary told herself to be content with the conversation so far. After all, it was more than she normally got out of the stoic teen on a good day.

Instead, she thought back to the picture of the two, with the woman who Hilary assumed was Kai's mother. It just felt wrong thinking of him as the grandson of Voltaire Hiwatari. Kai just was not like a businessman. It was true that Kai was often picked (along with Kenny) to sort out things to do with the Bladebreakers, but she had never thought the reason was because he was actually part of that world.

Thinking about Kai now she could not deny she saw him in a different light. He always appeared confident and powerful, but she had always put it down to him being such a great beyblader, not the grandson of a billionaire. It made her feel awkward sitting in a room that was so clean and belonged to such a rich family.

"My grandfather," Kai finally started, pronouncing his words slowly and deliberately, "does not take failure lightly, or betrayal."

"So he and Boris were working together?" Hilary prompted after a few more minutes of silence. "Tala said that Boris used to be the Director of the Demolition Boys."

Kai nodded before standing up and walking over to the window that was next to the elevator. After a moment he turned back to look at Hilary who was still perched uncomfortably on her seat.

"I can put you up in another hotel when I leave if you'd prefer." He commented, switching the topic abruptly.

Hilary glared at him indignantly. "If you think I'm going to quietly sit around while you go off on your own then you've got another thing coming."

Kai walked back towards her. "I already told you…"

"I know what you said!" She shouted, cutting him off. "But I'm here to help you Kai."

"How?" He shouted in response. "By starting an argument when I don't do what you want me to?" Looking at her stubborn expression his face twisted into something vicious. "Dranzer is gone, Hilary! Her bit was shattered and there's no way to reverse that." Suddenly his expression softened and Hilary wondered if she imagined the sadness in his eyes. "I'm through beyblading." He added in a quieter tone.

Seeming to think that the conversation was over, Kai walked towards his room and opened the door, but just as he was opening it, Hilary decided to stop him.

"Why?"

"Get changed. We're going out for dinner." Kai replied, avoiding the question. "And wear something nice." He added before shutting the door on her.

Hilary frowned indignantly at the now closed door to Kai's room wondering what on Earth she was going to do.

* * *

They walked into a beautifully decorated building with red and gold draped around the entrance and flowing through to where Hilary could see people eating. It was amazing and she mentally reminded herself to go on a date here; that is when she finally got a boyfriend and could afford the meal. Hilary wondered if Kai was just taking her here to make up for the fact he was leaving her in Hong Kong.

A man came up to them and started speaking some form of Chinese that she couldn't understand - she assumed Cantonese. Then again, the only Chinese she had ever learned was from Ray and she had a feeling that a few polite words in Mandarin would not be enough here. However, once again her fears were dispersed when Kai replied to the man without hesitation.

Hilary's mouth opened in shock, but she quickly closed it again when she noticed they were being lead into the main part of the building. Looking up; she was quickly mesmerised by the ceiling, which was painted a blue-black colour with gold stars, some containing fairy lights making up constellations with them. This was reflected in the fountain that stood proudly in the middle of the room, distorting the light and making everything dance on its glassy surface.

As Hilary stared around the room for a bit longer, she soon realised that there were no tables available. Almost everyone was seated in twos with the occasional family including children and sometimes grandparents, but everyone looked so beautiful and rich. She was very glad for the fact she had decided to pack a dress 'just in case.' She would have to thank her mother's influence after all, but from the look of the room they were not going to get a seat.

The waiter brought the two through to some stairs, which they climbed, up to what looked like it would be a small room. Kai waited for her at the top, holding the door open as she walked through only to stop and gasp at what was in front of her.

They were overlooking the room they had just walked through, but they were in their own secluded area where no one could see them. Hilary walked over to her seat where the waiter pulled out her chair and pushed her in before unfolding her napkin and placing it on her lap. She felt like one of those rich aristocrats that she saw in movies who was waited on hand and foot.

She watched as Kai sat down before saying something to the waiter, who quickly scuttled away. She opened the menu only to let her heart sink. The menu was in Chinese and English, but she was not even close to being confident enough to feel certain at what she was ordering in English. Her worry was probably quite visible since it was not too long before Kai spoke up.

"Is there anything you particularly like?"

Hilary smiled at him and they began a short, pointed discussion on what she might like to try. As Kai listed things, she took another look around the beautiful building.

It was strange seeing Kai like this. Normally Hilary would think of him as a scruffy kind of handsome. By contrast, this Kai was dressed very smartly despite not wearing a tie and having his top button undone. His unruly hair seemed tamer even though she doubted he had done anything to change it, but the biggest changes were his face and his voice. The markings had been removed, showing his pale, unblemished skin and his voice the harsh one she was used to barking orders; it was smooth and calming, almost sending her to sleep as he asked questions in order to make sure she would like the dishes in some way.

The menus were taken and their orders written down and before long they descended into a silence that seemed impossible to break. Hilary just watched the people below them, eating and chatting quietly to each other unable to think of what to say. Part of her wanted to laugh at the irony that she was the one not wanting to talk rather than it being Kai, who seemed to want to try and make her somewhat comfortable.

Hilary resisted the urge to jump for joy when the food finally came, giving her a better excuse to not talk to Kai. She knew it was childish and that Kai was the same person, but seeing how easily he was able to switch from being a tough beyblader to a perfect gentleman (if a bit quiet still) she wondered which one was the real Kai, if either of them actually were.

She glanced at the subject in question only to regret it. One eyebrow was raised in a silent question, but Hilary knew he was wondering what was wrong. She tried to give him a reassuring smile, but apparently it wasn't very convincing.

"Is the food alright?" His asked as he tucked into his own dish.

Hilary sent her gaze back to her food. "It's wonderful." Shaking off her doubts as silly she decided to continue the conversation, looking back up at Kai. "Did you come here with your grandfather?"

Kai nodded, "The company owns part of this restaurant. Any of the patrons that do have their own rooms so they never need to make reservations."

"Wow. I never quite realised how large Hiwatari Corporations was."

"Still is." Kai replied, "My grandfather may have invested a lot of money in the wrong thing, but the company was too big to fail."

Feeling more at ease Hilary was surprised and glad at how easily the conversation was flowing. It seemed that the topic of business was one Kai would willingly talk about. Actually that was unfair, Hilary corrected; he normally supplied information when no one else knew, but just wasn't the best talker.

"So what was the bad investment?"

At this question Kai turned to look over the people below especially, she noted, the families with children. "Beyblades."

"Huh?" Hilary almost smacked herself for the ineloquent reply, looking down at her food in embarrassment.

"My grandfather found out about the power trapped inside beyblades and decided to use it as a weapon. He collected information on some of the top teams' bit beasts and then used his own trained team to take them."

"Stealing bit beasts? That's horrible! Who would agree to do that?"

"You don't remember the Saint Shields or Zeo?"

"That's different. The Saint Shields wanted to make sure they never fell into the wrong hands and Zeo wanted the Bladebreakers' bit beasts to become real. To take them just to get power…"

"That's my grandfather." At the anger in his voice Hilary looked up and saw not only the anger, but shame as well.

"You did it." Hilary realised after a moment, horror clear on her face.

Kai remained silent, but it was obvious he was avoiding her eyes. Hilary licked her suddenly dry lips and picked up her glass of water; taking a few sips. There was nothing to say to that.

"What…" Hilary paused, considering her words carefully. "What made you stop?"

She looked directly at Kai when she asked and was rewarded when she saw the shock on his face at her question, causing his head to snap up to look at her to make sure he had heard right.

"Of all the things you could ask me…"

She gave him a small smile. "You don't have to tell me. I won't pry anymore if you don't. Just say it."

A tiny smile made its way across Kai's face. "Thank you."

Both knew nothing more would be said on the matter tonight, but there was a certain amount of tension that disappeared by the time they walked home to the Hiwatari family apartment. Besides, Hilary was determined to make him see things differently.

* * *

**I was never quite satisfied with this chapter. Hopefully it flows better now.**

**Edited 07/07/11**


	5. Beyblading on the Hong Kong Streets

_**Beyblading on the Hong Kong Streets  
**_

_There was nothing but a dark abyss that surrounded him. He could hear muffled voices, but that was all, he could not understand what they were saying. As he strained to listen, a great booming voice filled his head and, opening his eyes to look at the figure, saw Brooklyn standing in front of him._

"_Don't you see Kai? You are not worthy of the power you were given. It's not like she chose you especially, not like Tyson, Max and Ray. You have never had to fight for her truly."_

_Kai gritted his teeth, "You're wrong!"_

_Brooklyn grinned down at him and laughed, "Then where is your precious Phoenix to save you this time?"_

_Brooklyn disappeared and in his place, Zeus appeared. Its dark eyes gleamed in anticipation of the blood it was about to spill. Kai's eyes widened in horror as Zeus' claws swiped down along his body, catching his right eye, but doing the most damage down his chest._

_Kai had little time to brace himself as the dark bit beast attacked again. Kai was just able to raise his arms in order to shield most of his upper body, while his legs also took a lot of damage. When the onslaught subsided for a short time he looked up at the great creature. Its laugh, similar to Brooklyn's, filled the room and forced him to admit defeat._

_Kai shut his eyes refusing to bow down to Zeus. A dark chuckle escaped the bit beast's mouth as he watched the human boy below him trying in vein to hold out against his power. With a swift motion of one of his clawed hands, he picked Kai up like a rag doll and began to squeeze him, grinning as Kai's bones were beginning to give away to his strength._

"_You are nothing more than another loser Kai Hiwatari. What would your father think of you now?"_

* * *

Kai shot up from his bed with drops of sweat dripping from his nose and chin, the voice of Brooklyn mixed with Zeus still vibrating around in his head. His hands shook uncontrollably and he gulped in air like a fish out of water. Gripping the sides of his head in frustration, he tried to stop himself thinking about the memories that dream surfaced. After a few minutes of calming himself down, he flopped back with a sigh.

The fact that Brooklyn still haunted his nightmares… no beyblader had ever gotten so far under his skin in such a way. At least he still welcomed the feelings that came along with Tyson's rivalry. Flicking his eyes to the clock by his bed he realised it was probably time he got up. He still needed to get Hilary back to Mr Dickinson.

Kai rolled out of bed in one fluid motion and picked out some clothes before walking to the bathroom. Stripping off his clothes he stepped into the shower and turned it on to a comfortable temperature. When he was satisfied that the sweat had been removed and he had washed his hair he turned the temperature down as low as possible. Muscles tensed and Kai grit his teeth as cold water replaced the more comfortable temperature feeling like tiny needles down his back; but it did its job and he felt more awake for it. His trademark scarf had been left back with his old life and instead he wore dark jeans and a light button-up shirt. Kai attempted to shake a bit more of the water of his hair before stepping out of the bathroom, not bothering with the markings on his face – there was no point anymore.

He stepped out of the room, water still dripping a little onto his shoulders. Kai looked over to Hilary who was sitting on one of the couches seemingly much more at ease on it than she had been the day before. Noticing him, Hilary put a mark in her book and set it down on the table in front of her and next to a cup of tea.

"I only just made some tea if you want some." She offered, gesturing towards the teapot sitting further over on the table.

Kai gave her a nod before picking up another cup from the kitchen and pouring out his own tea. He sat down before taking a sip and watched the smile on Hilary's face grow. He took the cup from his lips and gave her a puzzled look, but she continued with the knowing smile while picking up her teacup and pressing the rim against her lips.

Kai rolled his eyes at her weird behaviour. Any expression he had shown on his face suddenly slipped off when he realised what he had to do. Finishing the tea, he stood up and looked down at Hilary.

"We're going to BBA headquarters to sort out your stay."

It seemed Hilary had hoped that he had forgotten about his decision. Whatever she thought, though, he had to get her back to Japan. She continued to stare at him with an unreadable expression, but placed her cup down dutifully and walked towards her bedroom.

"Are we coming back here, or should I take my suitcase?"

Kai looked away, unnerved. "Just take what you need for the day. We're coming back."

Hilary was only a few more minutes before walking out with a bag over her shoulder and a bright smile on her face that didn't quite reach her eyes. The two rode the elevator in silence and only Hilary replied to the receptionist as they walked out of the lobby.

* * *

Despite his old bit beast being a fire element, Kai had never dealt very well with the heat. This was especially true when the air was heavy with humidity. It made him irritable and short-tempered, which were never good things when walking with someone.

To give Hilary a bit more time Kai decided to go to the BBA in the afternoon rather than right away. This lead to the two of them walking around a lot as Hilary looked at the various stalls and shops. Sometimes she would spend time looking at something and then move on, only to later decide that she wanted the item and went back to pay for it. Out of guilt Kai felt obligated to pay for at least some of her purchases, but Hilary insisted she pay for her own as she bought souvenirs for her friends and family. By lunchtime the two were back on old terms with Hilary doing most of the chatting and Kai listening and every so often adding something to the conversation. She hadn't even noticed his change in attire, or at least she hadn't commented on it, for which Kai was glad.

"Oh look at that!" Hilary had just spotted a beautiful dress in the window, however she took one brief look at the prices and quickly moved on, asking Kai how someone would pay that much for it.

Kai, who rarely went shopping in the first place, had never been shopping with a girl in charge and he would be all too happy if it never happened again. It had nothing to do with Hilary, but they had not bought much and yet it seemed they had visited almost every shop within a two-mile radius of the station they had stepped out at. No wonder Hilary had been able to keep up with their training when she first joined the team if she did this every week or so.

Hilary was still enthusiastically walking ahead when she turned around to see Kai following her at a slightly slower pace. She grinned back at him, whether it was because she knew he was suffering or she was just happy, he could not be completely sure.

"So, how about lunch?"

Seeing Hilary happy, even in the heat, Kai couldn't help the smile that crept on to his face before he gave a silent nod. He walked up to her, taking one of her bags (since she only had two and insisted on carrying at least one).

The next street they walked down was completely packed and Kai felt Hilary grab the back of his shirt as people jostled their way through. Spotting a nearby alley, Kai pulled her towards it and into the shade. Hilary let go as soon as they were out of it, breathing heavily.

"How'd it get so busy?"

Kai shrugged, before turning away from the street and walked further into the alleyway. The click of shoes behind him reassured Kai that Hilary was following behind them.

Kai pictured the map of the city and turned down the alley that would take them in the right direction. Hilary seemed content to follow after him, glancing around herself as if she was afraid someone would jump out on them.

Hearing a noise in the distance, Kai stopped. Hilary stopped just behind him and asked him what was wrong, but Kai merely raised his hand in silence. Closing his eyes, be blocked out the dull roar of traffic to concentrate on a metallic noise ahead of them. Suddenly, Kai's eyes shot open in realisation that the object was getting closer fast!

"Get down!"

Kai shouted as he pushed Hilary into one of the walls, cushioning her fall. Hilary let out a shriek, dropping her bag as a beyblade shot past them and slamming into the ground.

"Well, well, well, what do we have here?"

Kai and Hilary in unison looked towards the boy that stood in their path. The beyblade shot back into his hand and he caught it with ease. Kai narrowed his eyes at the newcomer, part of him wondering why he looked so familiar.

The guy was standing with a pair of nunchucks, the ends of which were in each hand and draped over the back of his neck. His eyes narrowed at the sight of Kai, whose gaze was flicking between the beyblader and his beyblade on either side of him.

"Kai Hiwatari. Well I have to admit I didn't expect to ever run into you again."

Hilary glared at the newcomer, but thankfully stayed against the wall. "Who do you think you are?"

The beyblader smiled at her before he was drawn back to Kai. A second later the beyblade quickly returned to its master. He wasted little time reloading it onto his nunchucks.

"A nunchuck shooter?" Hilary whispered in surprise, but that was all that was needed to jog Kai's memory.

"Who am I? Why don't you ask your friend there? It was thanks to him and his teammates that I never made it onto the White Tiger Team!"

"The White Tigers?" Hilary questioned.

"Back when we were a new team," Kai began to explain, "we first had to qualify for the World Championships. To do this we had to win the Asian Tournament, where we met Ray's old team, the White Tigers."

"Oh, so he was a member?" Hilary questioned.

The teen began twirling his nunchucks, "No, but I would have been if it hadn't been for you and your friends."

"Enough talk. Let's beyblade!"

Kai folded his arms over his chest. "No thanks."

"What? Are you afraid of me?"

Kai met his opponent with a fierce glare, but refused to answer him.

"Forget it, I'll battle you."

Two shocked expressions met Hilary's determined one. Digging into her bag she pulled out a basic launcher and shooter, putting them together before going into another pocket and taking out a pink and white beyblade. Once she'd set it in place, Hilary got into a battle position.

"Well..?" She questioned when her opponent just stared at her.

"Fine then."

"Three; Two; One; Let it Rip!" They shouted together.

Hilary's launch was one of the worst Kai had seen in a while, but fortunately her beyblade recovered even though it was a bit wobbly. However, it was obvious that she had only learnt from observation. Her opponent took full advantage of that as his beyblade slammed into hers.

Hilary gritted her teeth together before ordering an attack, but her beyblade was slow to react and her opponent's beyblade dodged easily, slamming into it after. Hilary skidded back, but continued to stare determinedly at the street beyblader.

"Give it up, girl." He sneered. "You're obviously not good enough to battle me."

"Not until you agree to leave us alone."

"Hilary…" Kai started, but Hilary cut him off.

"I'm not going to stop, Kai. You've made your choice, so this is my fight."

Why was she doing this? Did she think that by beyblading she would earn some respect? But that didn't make sense considering her amateur level, so then why? He watched as her opponent kept beating her, but she kept getting up regardless of how hopeless the situation.

"Fine then." Her opponent smiled. "Finish her off!"

He sent his beyblade into one final attack, sending Hilary flying back along with her beyblade. Both landed on the ground unmoving. Kai tried to move, but his legs were frozen in place. What could he do? It wasn't like he had a beyblade to fight back with.

The street beyblader picked up his beyblade and then looked from Hilary on the ground, to Kai standing just behind her. Without saying anything he turned and walked away in disappointment, but Kai registered the beyblader's silent question: why did you let an amateur fight for you?

Kai looked over to Hilary, who was standing up and walking over to her beyblade to pick it up. Belatedly, he realised he should have helped her up, but his mind seemed to be processing things slower than usual. She stood up, wincing slightly, before looking into his eyes.

"What were you thinking?" Probably not the most dignified reaction, but Kai was too angry to care.

Hilary gripped the beyblade she had used in anger. "What was _I_ thinking? Well it wasn't like _you_ were going to fight him!"

Kai narrowed his eyes and walked over to her, but Hilary was certainly not done yelling at him.

"You keep telling people to back off and leave you alone, but that's not what you need. I'm not like the others; I could care less if you give up beyblade, but I do care if you're just giving up because you're too much of a coward to face your demons."

When Kai removed all traces of emotion from his face, Hilary seemed to realise she was in danger. She backed up slowly until she hit one of the walls of the alleyway. Despite her fear she continued to look at Kai defiantly, even when Kai raised his left fist. Her eyes continued to stare at him as his palm went past her and slammed against the wall she was on, causing her to flinch. Silence stretched on as both continued to stare at each other, breathing heavily from the adrenaline rush. Finally Kai sighed, closing his eyes and pulling back away from her.

"Fine." He walked away and picked up both of her bags and then glanced back at her, an annoyed expression still on his face.

The shock seemed to be just wearing off when their eyes met and Hilary smiled in response. The two spent the rest of the day wondering around the city, finally collapsing on the couch in the Hiwatari family apartment.

* * *

Kai rested his arms on the back of the sofa and looked up at the ceiling. Hilary was sitting next to him, perched on the sofa and looking at him. Still looking at the ceiling he licked his lips in nervousness.

"Sorry."

Out of the corner of his eye, he saw a tiny smile and understanding written on her face. Although he didn't show it, Kai was glad she wasn't afraid of him after how he'd behaved. The helplessness he'd felt watching her, maybe that's what everyone felt around him.

"Want me to start dinner?" Hilary asked, getting up.

He looked straight at her and nodded.

She smiled and walked to the kitchen, but jumped when the phone started ringing. She looked at it and then Kai who was also staring at it. Seeing that whoever was calling was being pretty persistent, Kai stood up and walked over to pick it up.

"Hello?" Kai asked, uncertain, hoping he wasn't about to talk to one of his grandfather's business partners.

"It's been a while, Kai. I heard you were in China."

Kai visibly tensed at the voice on the other end, the owner of which he recognised from the first syllable, "What do you want?"

Hiro Granger, Tyson's older brother, was someone Kai had always been weary of. Unlike Tyson, who wore his heart on his sleeve, Hiro was much harder to read and to add to that Kai strongly suspected he was not exactly on Hiro's list of friends.

Hiro was quick to respond, "My dad wants to see you again and Mr Dickinson mentioned you'd thought about visiting, so I thought I'd save you a bus trip and pick you up, since I'll be in the area tomorrow morning."

Kai's eyes narrowed, silently cursing himself for telling the head of the BBA anything useful and the old man for interfering. Despite that, his voice didn't betray him, as he replied to Hiro in a flat tone.

"That would be helpful. Do you have room for another person?"

"Yeah, that should be no problem as long as you don't have a lot of stuff. I'll come by around ten o'clock-ish, is that alright?"

"Fine."

"If you don't mind me asking, who is coming with you?" Hiro asked, sounding slightly like a child at Christmas trying to find out what his parents have bought him.

"If you really want to know Mr. Dickinson sent Hilary after me and since she's insisting on coming I'm not going to stop her."

Kai could imagine Hiro smirking on the other end of the phone line. He waited for Hiro to say something in reply, but none came for a while.

"Alright then. I'll assume you're staying at Voltaire's apartment?" Hiro asked, though it was more of a statement than a question.

"Yeah."

"See you tomorrow, Kai."

Kai listened to Hiro hang up before he slammed down the phone. Just at that moment Hilary had decided to step over from the kitchen and jumped as she heard the large crash.

"Who was that?" She asked tentatively, obviously noting Kai's foul expression that probably could have killed anyone unprepared a few times over.

"Tyson's brother. He's coming to pick us up tomorrow." Kai gritted out, almost daring her to ask anything else.

He stormed past her and into his room, before slamming the door with a huge amount of force. He hated having to rely on other people, especially people he was not exactly on the best of terms with; granted that included his grandfather, but at least he was family. But even he could admit he somehow didn't mind the idea of Hilary tagging along.

* * *

**Edited 07/07/11**


	6. Site of the Holy Beasts

_**Site of the Holy Beasts  
**_

Hilary sat with her hands in her lap, keeping her legs close together and attempting to make herself as unnoticeable as possible. No one had spoken in at least three hours and it had gone past the point of just unnerving her; by now she was quite annoyed with the situation. They were moving along at a fast pace in Hiro's Jeep, but if she had known how bad this journey was going to be she probably would have rather walked than have to endure the punishment of sitting with those two.

Looking to her left she watched Hiro staring straight out onto the road in front of him, with both hands on the steering wheel – the perfect driver. Meanwhile, Kai was sitting in the back, arms folded over his chest with both his eyes closed, so that he appeared to be asleep. Part of Hilary wondered if he was, but it was doubtful. Kai didn't trust Hiro that much.

It was just in that awkward silence that Hilary felt an uncomfortable tickle move up her throat like something was sucking out the moisture in it as soon as she swallowed. Wanting to clear her throat she coughed only to have both boys turn to stare straight through her, judging whether she was trying to get one of them to speak. Kai was the first to look away, seeming to think he had made some sort of point, and settled back into his former position.

Hiro on the other hand took this as an opportunity to speak, "So what have you two been up to since I last saw you?"

"Not much." Kai replied before Hilary could say anything.

"We've only just started travelling around since Kai's only just fully recovered recently." Hilary smiled.

"I see. Not much time to practice beyblade then?"

"I'm not beyblading anymore."

Hilary couldn't contain her look of disappointment at Kai's response. Although she had told Kai she didn't care if he stopped, part of her did just because that's when she got to see him smile. When he battled his friends or even someone like Brooklyn, Hilary was always pleasantly surprised how happy he was, even if there wasn't always a smile to show for it. It was in the fluidity and lightness of his movements that gave it away.

Hiro frowned at the answer, but nodded nonetheless.

As they got further from the city, the roads became slightly less congested, though they passed through many more towns the size of major cities before they finally found their way into the more rural parts of China. It wasn't until the next evening when they finally arrived at their destination. They had found a place to stay for a few hours and Kai had once again proven his talent with languages.

* * *

Hilary leaned out the window slightly to see people of varying ages working at different parts of the site. As they approached what looked like the main tent, a man with large, spiked navy blue hair stood in front waiting for them with a huge smile on his face, making Hilary almost forget about the long journey there.

"Well I'm glad you all made it here in once piece." He commented, grinning as they approached.

"Thank you for inviting us, Mr Granger." Kai stated, bowing in respect to show his gratitude.

Mr Granger laughed, "You don't need to be so formal with me, Kai. All of Tyson's friends are welcome any time and I am very glad you could make it."

The joy in his face turned into curiosity as he turned to look at Hilary, "And you must be the girl that my father keeps telling me about. He said that you've really got Tyson back on track at school."

Hilary blushed, she had never realised Tyson's grandpa had spoken about her to others. It was nice feeling that she was not always getting in everyone's way. "Thank you very much sir."

Mr Granger laughed, "Please, call me Bruce." He turned back to Kai, "And that goes for you as well, young man. No more of this formal stuff around me, alright? It makes me feel old."

Hilary watched Kai make some sort of affirming noise as he looked away. She had never seen Kai this uncomfortable around someone before. Usually he was unashamedly cocky or just indifferent. Though Hilary was thankful it didn't seem to be due to animosity towards the older man.

She would have dwelt on Kai's reaction some more except that his expression had once again changed to a look of indifference. It always seemed so strange to her that he could mask his emotions so effectively and chose to do so.

"So, how're you kids doing? Is Tyson keeping out of trouble?"

"Well he doesn't seem to be looking for any more fights after the BEGA tournament, which I think everyone's a bit thankful for." Hilary replied in a light tone.

"That's good to hear. Boris can be a nasty piece of work." Hilary did not miss the glance sent towards Kai. "I was proud when Hiro infiltrated BEGA, but it does worry a father when both his sons are mixed up in dangerous things."

Hilary looked over at Hiro, who had walked over to another part of the site. "Infiltrated?" She questioned with a whisper.

* * *

"Wow, I can't believe how many people are working on this one site." Hilary commented in awe as they walked towards something Tyson's father wanted to show them.

"The village where the White Tiger Team comes from is just up there." He commented, pointing up a hill. "The village is quite isolated and they prefer it that way, so we employ local workers in exchange for any goods they want. It keeps them up-to-date and gives people another career path if they're interested. The site is pretty huge and getting bigger by the month."

Suddenly a boy who only looked about her age ran up to Bruce in excitement. Hilary stared for a moment at his pale face and white hair that made him stand out compared to everyone else at the site. His clothes covered almost every part of him, except his face where there was a wide brimmed hat to shield him from the sun. This also distinguished him from the others, many of who had stripped down to shorts or light dresses. He tipped up the brim of his hat to look at Hilary and give her a polite smile. She returned it, but was surprised to see red eyes looking back at her that were surprisingly different to Kai's.

"Sorry Mr Granger, I didn't mean to interrupt."

"That's quite alright Ren." Bruce turned to Hilary and Kai, who was just behind them. "Ren this is Kai Hiwatari of Team BBA and Hilary, a friend of the team. Ren is one of my best students."

Ren blushed at the compliment, letting the hat he wore attempt to cover it. However politeness took over as he bowed to both of them and offered another smile.

"So you're on the team Ray went to when he left. I've heard you're very strong. I would love to see your power if you would be willing to have a beyblade battle." He suggested politely, producing his own beyblade.

Hilary looked to Kai nervously, who gave Ren a flat look in return. She looked back at Ren, who seemed to wilt under the stoic teen's gaze.

"Sorry, I didn't mean to be so bold."

"No it's not that!" Hilary quickly tried to reassure. "Kai's not beyblading at the moment, but maybe you can have one another time?"

Ren wearily glanced at Kai before smiling at Hilary. "I would like that. Thank you."

"Ren, did you find something?" Mr Granger asked, changing the conversation.

Ren looked as if he hadn't understood the question, but quickly recovered and turned towards the direction Bruce had been taking them, enthusiasm clear on his face.

"Yes. We've been able to uncover the rest of that room we discovered."

Bruce nodded in satisfaction, "That's great. I was just taking these two to see it after I showed them the twin one we found earlier. Would you like to come with us?"

Ren politely declined, "Thank you for the invitation, but I'd like to get back to work. Will you be over soon?"

"Yes. Try not to disturb too much before I get there if you can."

Ren nodded in confirmation and jogged away back to where he had come from.

"Alright, I'll just take us on a slight detour and then we'll go after him."

He led them to a part of the site that seemed less busy compared to other areas. It wasn't long before there was no one but them walking to an uncovered area. Hilary let out a gasp of surprise and even Kai could not contain his shock at the mural on the ground before them.

In the centre was a large taijitu symbol surrounded by an octagon. At the top, outside of the octagon, was a painted turtle chimera; across from it at the southern end was a type of bird; to the eastern side was the picture of a dragon and across from it on the western side was a tiger. All of this was then surrounded by a ring of ancient-looking writing, similar to what they had seen the stone the Saint Shields had sealed bit beasts in.

Hilary watched as Kai walked over to the bird carving – she figured it was a phoenix – and crouched down to touch the stone where its head had been painted. Bruce gave a sigh and Hilary looked up at him to see the man's concern for Kai showing plainly on his face.

"How is this here?" Hilary asked, genuinely curious.

Bruce smiled at her, "We believe that the four Holy Beasts, which we have also named the Sacred Four, originated from this site. If you look closely," he explained, pointing to four tiny slots below each animal, "we believe the bits were at some point placed here, where they were later taken and ended up in your friends' possessions."

"That's amazing!" Hilary exclaimed, jumping down to have a better look at them.

"Was there a point in showing us this?" Kai's harsh voice cut through their excitement.

Hilary looked over to him. Although his face looked completely blank, Hilary was pretty sure he was upset, not angry as his voice had first made her believe. It made sense, seeing his partner who he had lost must have been difficult. However, Kai continued to stare at the picture as if willing it to come to life and form a new bit for him.

Hilary turned back toward Bruce, who was still standing above them. "Does it have to do with the other thing you wanted to show us?"

Tyson's father nodded and turned to walk away. "If you two would follow me? The next site is one we've uncovered recently and is something I think you and the rest of Team BBA should know about."

Kai and Hilary shared a curious glance before following after him. Hilary made sure they were far enough back to be out of earshot, but not far enough that they would lose him.

"Do you want to talk about it?" She asked, not even looking at Kai.

"Not really." Kai replied flatly, increasing his pace to catch up with Mr Granger.

Hilary watched him get further away. "Well at least he gave me an actual answer this time." She sighed, quickening her pace to catch up.

* * *

Unlike the mural of the four Holy Beasts, the next site they went to was underground. As her eyes adjusted, Hilary saw Ren approach them no longer wearing his long jacket or hat. He smiled at Hilary and beckoned them over through another door.

At first, it was impossible to see anything since it was so dark, but Ren held up his lantern and Mr Granger followed with his own. Kai and Hilary both stared at the walls that depicted four animals on each of the four sides. Hilary looked first at the Turtle, which differed from the first image by having four arms rather than two and a long, whip-like tail. The Tiger stood proudly with long fangs, two tails and armour covering the front of its legs. The Dragon had a long blade angling out of each of his front paws, two sets of eyes next to each other and a more streamline-looking tail. Finally, the Phoenix's armour on its crown was more pronounced and had four wings spreading out instead of just two.

Hilary looked over to Kai, who seemed just as confused as she was. She looked under each image and noted each had the small hole for a bit to fit in. The Phoenix's, which was closest, seemed to have nothing in it, but Hilary caught a faint shimmer from the other three. She watched as Kai stepped over to the image of the Tiger and crouched down so that his eyes were level with the bit.

"Black Driger."

How he had been able to name the bit beast just by looking at it, Hilary had no idea, but Mr Granger's sobered expression seemed to confirm he believed Kai.

"We had hoped it wasn't true. However, it did explain why only the Phoenix's bit was missing."

Kai looked back towards them, suspicion evident. "You knew."

Bruce shook his head, "We suspected; but Hiro said you can sense the dark powers in the Black Bit Beasts. We also need to decide what to do with them."

Kai turned towards the picture of the Phoenix. "Seal this place again and make sure someone is guarding it at all times. No one can remove these."

Ren stepped forward, clearly annoyed. "We worked hard to excavate this site and you just want us to bury it again? All because you're afraid? Why should we listen to you?"

Kai looked directly at Ren and walked over, taking full advantage of the extra few centimetres he had on the other boy as he stared down. Fixing him with a full glare, Kai let Ren sweat for a moment before he turned to Bruce, disregarding Ren as a threat.

"I was lucky. I didn't have enough power to resist Black Dranzer, but I _did_ have enough to survive. If the wrong person tries to take these bit beasts then someone could die."

"What are you saying?" Asked Bruce.

Hilary couldn't believe what she was hearing. Is the reason Black Dranzer was missing because Kai had used it? But then, how had he gotten a hold of it? The various questions swam around in her head, but she knew better than to ask them right now.

"All bit beasts rely on the 'blader's energy to power them. Most bit beasts care about their partners, so they regulate themselves such that the beyblader can build up his or her stamina in order to control the bit beast. However, Black Dranzer didn't care about that, only about getting as much energy as possible."

"Hence why you went after everyone's bit beasts."

"Part of that was due to my orders, but I wasn't ordered to take the Bladebreakers' bit beasts."

Bruce sighed, "Well it's a shame, but I'd rather we didn't have another experience like Black Dranzer."

"You can't be serious!"

All eyes turned to Ren, who looked like he was about to attack Kai. "We put in so much effort to dig this place up and now because of this snob we're going to bury it again?"

"Ren, these things happen and they can't be helped. The power in this room is dangerous if it falls into the wrong hands."

"You don't get it." Ren whispered, so that only Hilary and Kai could hear him.

"I did everything right and you're going to take this find away from me?" Ren shouted in both anger and hurt.

"Ren…"

Ren shook his head, looking at the floor. "No, you're just like all the rest of them!" He then looked up at Bruce, and finished with a deadly calm voice, "How could I ever think you were different?"

Hilary stepped out of the way as Ren passed her and ran out of the pit, taking his light with him. Hilary turned to look at Kai, the shadows playing across his face. His expression was difficult to read, but Hilary wondered if she was imagining the hint of worry as he watched Ren leave.

"Hilary, would you go after him?"

The way Kai asked her made it not seem like a question, but Hilary decided to follow without argument. Whether Kai wanted to talk to Bruce in private or he was genuinely concerned for Ren was unknown, but she ran after the young Chinese archaeologist anyway.

The tunnel was dark, but fortunately she reached the sunlight quickly. It was getting late and the sun was setting, causing the sky to look as if it was on fire. She barely caught Ren storming away and ran to catch up.

"Ren, wait!"

They were leaving the ruins and going into the forest. Hilary felt the sting of branches along her arms and bare legs as she continued to run. She silently cursed herself for wearing shorts instead of trousers. Just as she was starting to worry she had lost him, Hilary noticed a clearing up ahead. A waterfall was pounding water against the surface of a practically still pool.

Hiding behind a tree, she looked up to see Ren sitting on one of the higher rocks overlooking the water. She stepped out from the tree and cleared her throat, causing Ren to turn around in shock and almost fall off his rock.

Hilary started forward, "I'm sorry, are you ok?"

Ren glared at her, "Yeah, your friend just told my boss to seal up the first major discovery I've made. I'm ecstatic."

Hilary climbed up the rocks to sit with him, but slipped at one of the top stones. Her arms shot out to try to catch herself and grabbed something soft. Looking up she saw Ren holding her arm with a look concern.

"You alright?"

Hilary nodded dumbly as she pushed herself up. "Thanks to you."

A dusting of pink found its way onto Ren's cheeks and he looked away in embarrassment, mumbling excuses. Hilary couldn't help the smile that came to her face. She looked down at the water and her expression became more serious.

"I know Kai seems to be a jerk, but he's just bad with people. He's not trying to punish you, you know."

Ren glared at the water, "Well it wouldn't be anything new for me. He didn't seem to like me much."

"He's just been through a lot and is antisocial on the best of days. I think he was just surprised at what was in there." Hilary looked at Ren. "Despite his attitude he's normally right, which is I guess why he isn't very popular."

"But you like him?" It was more of a statement than a question.

"He talks tough, but he's saved my life." Hilary looked over at the setting sun. "He looks out for his friends in his own way and uses harsh words to cover his worry, but he's probably one of the best people to have on your side."

"He's lucky to have a good friend like you."

This time it was Hilary's turn to blush. "I'm way too opinionated and I think I get in the way more than I help."

"If that were the case I don't think he'd have let you come along."

"Maybe…" Suddenly Hilary thought of something. "Wait, Mr Granger said you were from White Tiger Hills. Does that mean you're friends with Ray and Lee?"

Ren shook his head, "I don't really have any friends. I'm not that great of a beyblader and I don't stand a chance against people with bit beasts, so I'm kinda forgotten about. It wasn't until Hiro and Mr Granger came that I really found a purpose."

"That must be lonely."

Ren shrugged, "I'm used to it, besides," he added with a smile, "I love working on the site and finding out about the past. Hiro sometimes beyblades with me and gives me tips, so I've tried to keep it up. But, it's a bit difficult sometimes when I can't battle anyone."

Hilary paused with her chin on her hand, "I'd offer to battle you, but I'm afraid I'm terrible." She paused for a bit longer before turning to look at Ren. "I'll tell you what, I'm going to persuade Kai to start beyblading again and when I do I'm sure he'll accept a battle with you."

"You really think so?" Ren asked hopefully.

Hilary nodded, standing up. "I can certainly try. Now why don't we go back and talk all this out?"

Ren shook his head, "I think your friend's pretty stubborn. I'm just going to sit here a while and sort out my thoughts if you don't mind."

Hilary's smile dropped, but she could understand if he wanted to be alone. "Ok then. Just don't stay out too long, alright?"

He gave her one more reassuring smile before turning back to look at the waterfall. Sighing Hilary walked back down the rocks and walked back into the forest. The problem was that the sun had gone down by now and it was so dark she couldn't see where she was going, so Hilary decided to follow the lights in the distance.

After stubbing her toe against another rock, Hilary let out a short scream of frustration. Forget Ren's feelings, she should have stayed with him and his lamp. She looked towards the lights and sat down on a rock for a moment to calm down, letting her head rest on her knees in frustration.

"Hilary!"

She looked up to see Kai walking towards her with a flashlight in his hand. He looked down at her quizzically.

"What are you doing?"

Hilary blushed in embarrassment as she stood up, "I forgot to bring a light with me and got lost."

Kai seemed to completely ignore her embarrassment and turned towards the excavation site. He glanced back to make sure she was following before walking away. Hilary smiled at his behaviour, jogging a bit so she could walk beside him.

* * *

**Edited 07/07/11**


	7. The Village of the White Tiger

**Long Author's Note:  
**

**So_, _it's been a while hasn't it? There's really no excuse for how long it has taken me to get back to this story, but those of you who are still interested in it may be happy to know I now have a full plot and it's just a case of writing it out. Yes, I even have a satisfactory ending with no horrendously boring battle scenes to write (my current issue with my other major story). However, in the process of finding this story again I have done some severe editing, so please reread up until this chapter or you will be confused. I am very sorry for this, but it really couldn't be helped. Many of my reviewers may be interested to note that I have read all your reviews and taken your comments into consideration. They have been very helpful.**

**Chapter 1 is the same minus some typos, and a scene has been added to the start of chapter 2. After that, the story diverges more and more with a slight dip in this chapter due to me actually being satisfied with the interaction with the White Tigers (mostly). Again, my apologies for making you all wait so long and a big thank you to everyone who has reviewed, you literally kept my mind on this story and made me want to come back to it.**

**Unfortunately, due to all the major changes I don't know whether this means there'll be a romantic relationship between Kai and Hilary or whether they'll just remain friends. I don't want to force either, so I'm afraid people hoping for romance might be disappointed - that's still a bit up in the air.**

* * *

_**The Village of the White Tiger****  
**_

Kai watched as Hilary went after the new kid. The look in Ren's eyes – the desire to prove himself useful – was something that worried Kai when it turned out that the Black Bit Beasts were involved. It was just how Boris had snagged him when he was young. Bruce cleared his throat, causing Kai to shift his attention.

"Are you sure we have to bury this place? It will really devastate Ren."

Kai glanced towards the entrance and then looked at each of the remaining bits before sighing. He didn't want to overreact, but at the same time most people would underestimate the dark bit beasts' powers until it was too late.

"I do." He added after a moment's pause, "However, if you want to bring in a team to study it then just make sure they're people you can trust not to go after the power."

Bruce nodded, "I do understand your concern Kai, it's just…"

"You're working for people and need to give them something interesting to look at."

Tyson's father smiled, "I sometimes forget you're a businessman too. Hiro says you're already managing part of the company."

Kai shrugged, as if it was no big deal (which it wasn't). The two of them walked outside and Bruce talked to some of the locals nearby about setting up a watch. After a few minutes, he walked back over to Kai and the two made their way into the main tent.

* * *

Hiro was sitting typing something out on the laptop in front of him. He glanced up at his father and Kai as they entered, but went straight back to typing afterwards. Kai took a look at some of the artefacts on the table, but knew better than to touch anything.

"Hiro said that Dranzer was destroyed. I'm sorry, I hadn't realised that when I asked you here."

Kai shrugged as his gaze fell on another item on the table. He heard Hiro scrape back his chair and stand up, echoing footsteps walking up to him.

"What're you going to do, Kai?" Hiro asked in a neutral tone.

Once again Kai chose to respond without using words. He really had no idea anyway and despite his dislike of Hiro, the older boy was not one to try to manipulate him unless their orders somehow clashed.

"I've sent in my resignation to the BBA, which you must know about since Mr Dickinson was the one to approve it."

Hiro nodded, but both beybladers could tell that Mr Granger was lost.

"Wait, what are you boys talking about? Have you quit the Bladebreakers?" He asked, directing the second question towards Kai.

"I didn't need to. The terms of my captaincy were as long as I was needed or had Dranzer under my possession, whichever one expired first. Considering I am no longer needed, nor do I have a bit beast Mr Dickinson did not need me to send a letter of resignation."

The answer dawned on Bruce as he looked between the two boys. "You were an agent of the BBA."

Kai leaned back against one of the posts holding the tent up and looked straight into Mr Granger's eyes. "I was offered the position before I joined the Bladebreakers, but due to my grandfather I declined. The last thing I wanted was to be forced to act as a double agent. After the World Championships I gave up beyblading, but Mr Dickinson asked for me to stay in contact as an agent for the BBA."

"Which is why he and I went to BEGA. The BBA knew Boris was up to more than he let on, but without proof we couldn't do anything about it. While I was there I figured out what he was doing and informed the BBA that they would need Kai to stop him publicly, rather than taking him down from the inside. They ordered me to make sure Kai wasn't chosen for the BEGA team."

"Of course, they neglected to inform me." Kai added with only a touch of bitterness.

"That shouldn't have happened, though admittedly the result was better than we had originally expected."

"Except that Dranzer was destroyed in the process." Bruce concluded. He then looked at Kai, "Are you going to try to get her back?"

Kai looked towards the ground. "I was just keeping Dranzer until her next guardian came along. It was never supposed to take this long." His eyes flicked up to look at Bruce. "She's not mine to claim."

"I see."

* * *

It was pitch black when Kai and Hilary arrived at White Tiger Hills. Lit torches greeted them from the other side of the river, but there seemed to be no boatman in sight. Hilary broke the long silence for the first time since they had said goodbye to Bruce and Hiro.

"How are we going to get over there?"

Kai walked up to the shoreline and shone his light into the water. It looked way too deep for him to wade across, let alone Hilary. Glancing around, there didn't seem to be anyway of contacting the other side.

"It looks like we may have to camp here tonight."

"Okay then."

Kai looked at her suspiciously as Hilary agreed much too enthusiastically. He had to wonder if she was just agreeing for his sake. He had been less attentive than usual, worrying about one of the dark bit beasts getting loose, even if Hiro had reassured him otherwise.

There was a rustle in the bushes and Kai took a threatening stance in front of Hilary, who also dropped back a bit ready to throw her bag at the intruder if nothing else.

"Well that's no fun. I thought that the girl would get a little upset at least."

Kai looked over towards the new voice to see the smallest member of the White Tiger X (Kai had always wondered if they added the X just to try and sound cooler) Team, Kevin, step out from the nearby foliage.

Another voice, slightly higher pitched, snorted, "One day, Kevin, your pranks are going to get you into a lot of trouble."

Kai resisted the urge to roll his eyes as the only female member of the group, Mariah, stepped into the clearing a few paces behind her teammate. She looked at the two visitors, obviously surprised to see Hilary here, but she seemed to quickly brush it off and looked directly at Kai. She was obviously still wounded by what he had done in the Russian World Championships (and at BEGA Kai's mind quickly reminded him); not that Kai really blamed her.

"It's nice to see you again, Kai." Mariah was obviously saying it out of politeness rather than out of any feelings of camaraderie with Kai. "I didn't realise the BBA Revolution's cheerleader was also coming."

Kai looked to Hilary, who tried to hide the initial hurt caused by the comment, but she was just a bit too slow for Kai not to notice, "My name's Hilary. We were never properly introduced."

"Oh yeah, I remember you. You were that girl who tried to beyblade on the bus. That was priceless!" Kevin laughed.

Kai was obviously confused, but he figured that it must have happened when he was with BEGA. Hilary looked bright red from embarrassment, before Kai put her out of her misery. Considering her beyblade skills in Hong Kong he could only imagine what had happened.

"I'm assuming you two are here because there's a boat to get to your village."

Mariah nodded, "Elder Tao said you would be arriving. He wishes to speak with you." She looked at Hilary, "We didn't realise there were two of you coming."

"Neither did I." Kai silently admitted, before answering Mariah's question, "Hilary and I can share a room if that'll help."

Kevin grinned, "So she's your girlfriend, huh? I never thought the Ice Captain would get a girl."

Kai watched Hilary out of the corner of his eyes once again turn bright red, but Mariah beat her to the (literal) punch when she wacked Kevin on the head. "That's enough, Kevin! Let's get home, okay?"

Mariah sent Kai one last glare before walking towards the shore. Kai helped Kevin with the boat while the two girls watched and talked, the conversation becoming more civilized with each word said. They placed their bags in the boat while Kevin, Mariah and Hilary jumped in and Kai pushed the boat into the water before jumping in the boat himself.

Kai watched Kevin pick up the paddle at the back and attempt to steer the boat across the river, however he did not seem to be able to accomplish much. Kai raised an eyebrow silently wondering how on Earth Kevin and Mariah had crossed in the first place.

"Maybe if you stopped looking so smug and helped out we'd move faster." Mariah jabbed.

She must have noticed the slightly amused look on Kai's face to make that kind of comment to him, so he made a mental note to keep his emotions more in check. The Bladebreakers really had gotten to him, he grimaced.

Kai was not one to ask for, or listen to instructions unless he really had to (or deemed it beneficial to do so), but in this situation he would never admit to any weakness in front of the White Tigers. Unfortunately, he had never manoeuvred a boat like this one and just following what Kevin was doing seemed to be an easy route to being ridiculed by the two White Tigers.

However, realising they were practically going nowhere; Kai swallowed his pride and stood up. Kevin, who could probably smell uncertainty from an ant a few metres away, watched Kai with a gleam in his eyes as the older teen stood up and walked over to where Kevin was standing.

Reluctantly Kai took the paddle into his own hand and began to quickly experiment, seeing what movements would get them to the other side fastest, without making a fool of himself in the process. The boat started to move a lot faster than before as Kai's powerful arms were able to move the paddle much further along than Kevin had. Even Mariah didn't bother to complain because they were moving at such a better pace.

A few minutes later, they reached the other shore, landing in some tall grasses. Kevin jumped out and pulled the boat to shore, followed by Kai. Mariah and Hilary jumped out, thanking the boys before moving a safe distance onto the shore.

A small figure stood on the shore waiting for the newcomers to approach. Kai recognised the hunched over form of the White Tiger's mentor, Tao. A smile appeared on the old man's face, much like a cat's grin, causing him to close his eyes in a greeting of approval.

Next to him, however, was the much less welcoming face of the White Tigers' second-in-command, Lee. He had not changed since the BEGA tournament and the scowl on his face only reminded Kai of his betrayal... betrayal_s_, his mind was quick to correct since there was no way anyone other than other BBA representatives would know about his mission. He resisted the urge to pinch the bridge of his nose in an attempt to halt the memories of Black Dranzer and BEGA as well as his growing headache.

Instead of attempting to look into the golden eyes of Lee, Kai turned his attention back to the old man Tao, who had kept his eyes on Kai the whole time.

"Welcome to White Tiger Hills, Kai and..."

"Hilary, sir." Hilary politely bowed after introducing herself to the older man.

"Yeah you know, the one who launched that beyblade on the bus!" Kevin piped in, cackling afterwards.

Both Mariah and Hilary sent him withering looks, which he ignored, while Lee's eyes were still fixed on Kai. It was starting to get a bit unnerving even if Kai wouldn't show it.

Tao chuckled, "Ah yes, I remember. You're quite a determined young lady."

Despite receiving a compliment, Hilary still blushed scarlet and fumed as Kevin danced around her singing abuse and easily dodging her when she took a swipe at him. The insults escalated until Lee (who finally took his eyes from Kai) sent some harsh words towards Kevin to make him be quiet, which Kevin ignored until Mariah grabbed him.

Kai was beginning to grow impatient, "Sir, Mariah mentioned you wished to speak with me?"

Tao looked at Kai with an odd expression on his face, but seeming to remember what he wanted to say a smile appeared and he turned back towards the village.

"In due time, boy; for now rest is the most important thing you two need and I will be happy to speak to you in the morning. Lee will be happy to show you to your room, Kai."

If it was at all possible Lee's expression grew darker and almost broke into a jog as he went to lead Kai to his room. Kai turned back to look at Hilary, but Mariah ushered him to follow her older brother.

Mariah smiled at both of them in friendly reassurance, "Hilary will be with me. There's nothing to worry about."

* * *

Kai was restless that night, not that it was particularly different from any other night for the past few months. Sleeping meant nightmares and he didn't need to be a genius to know that any sleep he got would be almost as draining as staying awake. He was quickly becoming used to the noises of the room's other occupants – the White Tiger boys – and the sounds of the nightlife were minimal, so the light footsteps outside the room were the equivalent to gongs in his ears.

Not wanting to cause a scene over something that could have been a regular occurrence he continued to lie in bed, but when Kevin jumped cat-like out of his bed, followed by a surprisingly quite Gary, Kai was intrigued. He continued to listen wondering if he should go back to sleep when he heard the scream of a girl.

The older teen quickly jumped down from the bed he had been lying in and threw on a shirt before stepping outside with Lee following right behind him. Their pounding feet seemed to wake up everyone in the village who had not heard the scream and soon the whole village was awake and wondering what was happening.

Kai fell back a bit and let Lee take the lead as they ran along the paths between the houses and Lee shouted back that the sound had come from the girls' area. Lee immediately picked up the pace as soon as the sounds of a beyblade battle could be heard, but Kai began to slow down. What exactly could he do to help when he didn't have a beyblade? An image of Hilary in trouble flashed in his mind and, despite his previous reluctance, he ran to catch up with the leader of the White Tigers.

"Mariah!" Lee shouted just as Kai ran into the clearing.

Kevin and Gary had arrived at the scene a bit earlier and were currently standing between Mariah and her attacker. Hilary was standing between those three and where Kai and Lee had entered. She turned to look at Kai when he noticed a beyblade shooting straight for her.

A teen with a wide-brimmed hat he was sure he had seen before had directed his beyblade straight for Hilary's head. Kai ran to place himself in between her and the mysterious stranger, reaching for a beyblade that did not exist. His eyes widened and he braced himself for the hit, however a black beyblade had intercepted the new beyblade, as Galeon made his entrance with a magnificent roar.

"Take him down, Galeon!" Lee shouted and his teammates' beyblades also responded.

The teen merely smirked, "And here I thought the great Kai Hiwatari would join the match, or are you too scared to fight me?"

Kai was hardly one to go along with such a petty bate and he only gritted his teeth as the other White Tiger beybladers fought, feeling helpless. However, it was apparent they were no match when both Gary and Kevin's beyblades were sent back after attacking the new beyblade.

Lee growled at the attacker, "You'll pay for that!"

The stranger chuckled, "Will I really? I can't see anyone that could actually stop me. And once this match is over, your bit beasts will belong to us!"

The wide-brimmed hat was pulled off to reveal the boy they had met earlier at the site. Kai felt his heart sink into his stomach at the implications of him attacking his own village.

"What's wrong? I thought you guys were supposed to be the strongest beybladers in the village." A girl's voice called from their right.

Everyone looked as a teen who looked a couple of years older than Kai stepped into the moonlight. She had a wicked smile on her face and her gold eyes were contracted into slits. Her black hair was cut at the nape of her neck, except for two long strands that framed her face. A beyblade was spinning in front of her that quickly went towards Galux.

One more beyblade joined the fight and Kai glanced to the left to see another boy, younger than the other two, step out. He wore the same manic grin that the girl had; that Kai himself remembered splitting across his face when he had defeated the Bladebreakers' bit beasts. Kai couldn't help but feel completely helpless. If only he still had Dranzer he could have done something to stop them!

Galeon was thrown back and the other three charged in with their bit beasts, one of their beyblades against one of the dark beybladers' bit beasts. The three grinned as Galux, Galman and Galzzly took more and more damage.

"Kai, we have to do something!" Hilary exclaimed, grabbing Kai's shoulder from behind.

Kai grit his teeth in a grimace, searching the field for something he could do to help. But before anyone could act, the three beyblades had been shattered except for their bits. All three of the dark beybladers grinned, each bit beast going to a different beyblade. Mariah let out a scream of anguish as the female beyblader absorbed Galux.

"So that's it, huh?" Asked Ren, sounding genuinely disappointed.

"Not by a long shot!" Lee shouted, sending his bit beast charging towards Ren.

Ren smirked as all three beyblades rushed at Lee. The eldest White Tiger braced himself for an attack that never actually hit. Suddenly there was a shout and another beyblade joined the match. No one recognised the white and pink beyblade as it shot towards its opponent, except Kai whose worry was clear on his face.

Everyone else looked in shock to see the Bladebreaker's cheerleader, Hilary, standing defiantly before the dark beybladers with a launcher in one hand and a ripcord in the other. The grip on her launcher tightened.

"If you think you're going to take those bit beasts without a fight, then you've got another thing coming."

Kai finally recovered from his shock and turned back to her beyblade. It was obvious that she was no match for him and yet it was still spinning; her determination seemed to be all that was needed to keep it going!

The female beyblader laughed, "You really must be an idiot to enter a match without a bit beast when even your friends who _have_ bit beasts could do nothing. Do you actually think you'll make a difference?"

Hilary continued to stare him down, before she replied in a voice that suddenly reminded Kai of Tyson. "I refuse to be a coward and stand aside while you take their bit beasts and I'm more than willing to sacrifice my beyblade in order to protect them!"

The girl smiled, "So be it; I'll finish you off before I defeat the rest of their pathetic team. Black Dragoon, finish her off!"

Kai watched as the beyblade glowed and went straight for Hilary. Realising that the beyblader was using her bit beast to attack Hilary directly, he ran into the line of fire, wrapping his arms around her smaller body to shield her and turning his back to his opponent. He barely heard Hilary's scream as a blistering pain shot through his back. He fell to his knees, pulling her closer until the light dancing in front of his eyes disappeared. It only took another second or two for their eyes to meet and a silent thank you from Hilary, for Kai to step into the battle.

Ignoring the pain, he stood in front of Hilary, ready to defend her against another attack. Hilary's beyblade had taken a lot of the damage and had stopped spinning a short distance away, but far enough that Kai knew he could not reach it in time.

"Kai?" Kai's eyes flicked back to Hilary standing behind him.

"What is it?" He answered in a low voice, wanting to reassure her, despite the pain he was in.

"I..." she hesitated before continuing, "I have a beyblade you could use. Kenny gave it to me before we left."

Kai turned around to face her and the open palm where the beyblade sat. It was Dranzer MS and Kai felt his heart skip a beat as his eyes were drawn to the blank chip in the middle. His hand reached out tentatively, still debating whether or not to use the beyblade that did not carry his bit beast and that he had vowed not to use again.

In the background Mariah's scream could be heard as Galeon was defeated, the three beybladers obviously thinking they were finished dealing with Kai and Hilary. Kai ignored the sounds as he watched Hilary produce her launcher and rip cord.

"You won't be the only one without a bit beast if you don't do something." Her words were soothing, but it was impossible to miss the urgency in Hilary's voice.

Kai turned around as the four defeated bits began to glow. The next few seconds were blank to him as suddenly the launcher and beyblade were in his hand and the beyblade launched at his attackers. The teens' eyes widened and the defeated White Tigers all looked towards the person who had once been responsible for taking their bit beasts from them and was now protecting them.

Kai was still unsure of what he was doing, but calling upon his former training at Balcov Abbey he managed to push away his emotions and doubts and stare his opponent down with a look that could have frozen Hell several times over.

Ren smirked at him, "So you finally joined the fight? You realise that you won't make a bit of difference since your pals here couldn't even lay a scratch on me with their bit beasts?"

Kai had been mocked by countless people underestimating his power and to him Ren was just another one of those losers. Kai's fist tightened at his side as he glared over at his opponent and prepared for battle. He was going to take this seriously. Out of the corner of his eye, he noticed the other two had backed off in interest. Good, let them underestimate him; it would be the last mistake they'd make.

"Are you going to trash talk all day or are we actually going to battle?" Kai's expression remained stony and he looked back down at the beyblades in front of him, clearly unnerving his opponent.

"You're finished!"

No sooner had his opponent shouted at him the teen's beyblade shot towards Dranzer with incredible speed that surprised the White Tigers, who quickly realised they had been toyed with.

"I'm insulted that you even seem to think you're just as good as you were without your bit beast, Kai Hiwatari. If you had any sense you would have realised your bit beast has bailed you out of every match since you started competing in the world circuit. But I guess I'm just giving you way too much credit."

Kai smirked, still watching his beyblade as it moved around, "You assume all the power that went into my beyblade belonged to my bit beast."

Everyone stood shocked as a familiar dark blue mist surrounded Kai and his beyblade quickly copied. The beyblade began spinning faster and dust began to kick up around them.

Kai's eyes shot up to meet his opponent. "Go Dranzer!"

It was impossible to miss the look of absolute shock on his opponent's face as Dranzer shot towards Ren's beyblade with incredible speed. The beyblades clashed and both began to wobble.

Both teens were breathing heavily, but Kai was obviously in worse shape. Without a bit beast he was the one taking all the hits his opponent threw at him. The fight would not continue much longer and Kai was all too aware of that fact. A grin spread across his opponent's face and Kai knew the boy had figured it out as well.

"Looks like you're all out of power. Black Driger, Galzzly; Final Attack!"

Kai felt the full force of his opponent's bit beasts claws slash at his chest, sending him flying to the ground and aggravating the wounds on his back. Only moments later his beyblade span to a stop next to him. Laughter could be heard from his opponent as Kai struggled to get up in order to keep some of his respect, despite the loss and the pain.

Suddenly a familiar voice shouted from the dark, "Cross Fire!"

Another black beyblade shot between Kai and the other blade, which was still spinning. The new beyblade briefly glowed before slamming into its opponent and knocking Galeon into Lee's hand. Kai looked over to Ren and the other two beybladers only to see the shock he was feeling mirrored on their faces, though he could see there was also rage at the interruption.

Behind him, he heard Hilary breath out a sigh of relief only to gasp when a cloaked beyblader stepped out from the shadows. The White Tigers scrambled to grab their bits and assume fighting stances as everyone waited for the new arrival to declare his side.

"I didn't expect to find you here Kai."

Kai's eyes immediately widened as he recognised the voice and relaxed realising it was help. The White Tigers had the opposite reaction, with Lee resetting his beyblade ready to launch at the slightest movement of the new beyblader.

"What are you doing here Ozuma?" Hilary shouted in both surprise and relief, drawing the shocked attention of the White Tigers.

He was answered with a small chuckle, "I happened to be passing near-by and saw the commotion. Though I normally wouldn't interfere, when I saw Black Driger I figured something was wrong."

Ozuma pulled off his hood and turned to Kai and Hilary, ignoring everyone else in the area. He walked until he was only a short distance away before looking down at Kai, who was struggling to push himself up still.

"How did the Black Bit Beasts get out?"

"Someone found the place they were sealed." Kai heard Hilary explain, though her voice sounded far off.

Kai heard rather than saw three similarly cloaked beybladers emerge from the shadows. Hilary walked up beside him and kneeled down to touch his shoulder.

"Are you going to be alright?"

Kai shrugged, but a small smile had appeared on his face. The adrenalin was wearing off and he was starting to feel the sting of the injuries turn into a much worse pain. Grabbing onto Hilary's arm, he slowly attempted to get up and walk away, only to collapse after a couple of steps (he could only remember the first), blacking out before he had even touched the ground.

* * *

**Edited 07/07/11**


	8. Aftermath

**Before I start this chapter I have a bit of good news. I will be updating this every other Friday from now on (unless circumstances prevent me, in which case I will most-likely publish earlier). Having said that, the next update will be a bit earlier than two weeks for the previously stated reason.**

**Also a bit of a random question, but I have made a change in style, writing with abbreviations in the descriptions as well as the dialogue to give a sense of the character rather than the descriptions appearing stiff. What are your opinions on this? Are the abbreviations and slang in the descriptions annoying or do you like the flow? Do you have an opinion at all about it? (You're allowed to say you didn't even notice, I'm just mostly curious.)**

* * *

_**Aftermath**_

Hilary got little sleep for the rest of the night. Gary had helped bring Kai onto a bed, where they cleaned up his wounds and laid him on his chest, since the ones on his back were more severe. Hilary had watched Marium and Ozuma work, attempting to help when she could, but even she had to admit she was distracted by the startling realisation that Ren had done this. Throughout the process, Hilary would deny the evenings events and convince herself of all over again when she looked at Kai lying in front of her. Finally, once she and Ozuma had finished, Marium had persuaded Hilary to get some rest away from Kai and the events that had occurred the night before.

Kai was still asleep when Hilary finally woke up in the late morning, as was most of the rest of the village. This gave her the idea to make herself useful and go find out what had happened at the site after they had left that had led up to the attack at White Tiger Hills. She explained where she was going to Master Tau, just in case someone worried about her (though she doubted that would happen) and one of the White Tiger villagers was kind enough to assist her across the water.

It didn't take her long to retrace her steps and find the site. Once there, Hilary rushed to the main tent, hoping to find Hiro and his father. She quietly opened the tent flap, allowing some sunlight to stream past her and send light along part of the floor. Inside she only saw Mr Granger sitting on a chair looking thoroughly exhausted and staring at a laptop in front of him.

"Bruce, are you alright?" Hilary politely asked as she walked in, announcing her presence.

He obviously hadn't seen or heard her approach, because he jumped out of his chair in shock, almost spilling the cup of tea over onto his laptop. After double-checking he had prevented the near-disaster, Bruce gave Hilary a weary smile that didn't reach his eyes. It looked as if he had been up most of the night; his eyes had large dark circles underneath them.

"Hilary, I wasn't expecting you so early. Where's Kai?"

When the silence continued he obviously knew he would not be able to avoid the question they both knew Hilary wanted to ask. With a sigh, he sat back down on his chair and motioned for her to pull over another from nearby. Hilary politely picked up the chair and set it down near him, before perching herself on it, sitting straight and alert – a stark contrast to the man across from her.

"Kai's still resting from last night's events. What happened here?" She asked in a soft tone.

Bruce shook his head, obviously attempting to deny the events that had occurred in the night. He picked up his cup of tea and took a sip, letting it rest in his hands after. Finally, he looked again at Hilary and began.

"It wasn't that long after you two left. I had set up a watch and told Ren of my decision to not bury the room just yet. He was very excited and pleased with the news and told me he wanted to look at the inside a bit that night. I think he was worried I would change my mind in the morning. Anyway, I decided to let him go in alone; I didn't think there would be any harm."

Taking one of his hands from the cup he used the now free hand to pinch the bridge of his nose, massaging it lightly. "We had four guards on. Two around your age – Li Mei and Meng – and two adults. I thought the threat would come from the outside, but not long after I had given Ren permission to go inside, Hiro and I heard a loud crash and the next thing we knew, Ren, Li Mei and Meng were standing there behind three beyblades with the dark bit beasts released.

"I wasn't there to witness what happened to Kai when he had Black Dranzer, but these kids didn't show any mercy. Hiro tried to stop them, but…" At this Bruce trailed off, memories of his eldest son being badly injured surfacing.

"Ren's a good kid. He's quiet and very much wants to prove himself to those around him, but he's not the type to get power-hungry for attention and he's _never_ been ruthless. I guess after seeing Kai's grandfather I could understand how Kai could become the type of person to take Black Dranzer and let it take over him, but seeing this, I wonder how much Kai was influenced by that bit beast. I guess quite a lot if what Tyson thinks is correct." He added the last part absently, more to himself than for Hilary's benefit.

Part of Hilary wanted to ask Bruce how much he knew about what happened with Kai and Black Dranzer, but another part of her wanted to respect her friend's privacy. Besides, the only people that seemed to know the truth of the story were the Bladebreakers. Sometimes when the guys mentioned events around it, Hilary wished she'd been there, but considering how close-lipped everyone got when the World Championships in Russia were mentioned – even Tyson – she figured if it was that bad, then it was a good thing she hadn't been there. The problem was, with Kai currently resting, they could really use someone who knew a bit about what they were facing. Not for the first time she wished that Kenny, Max, Ray or even Tyson were here with her.

"Where is Hiro now?"

"Currently in our medical tent. He's just resting on one of the beds after taking quite a bit of damage. Ren also took Metal Driger when he beat Hiro." Mr Granger rested his head in his hands. "What am I going to do?"

Hilary placed what she hoped was a reassuring hand onto Bruce's arm, causing him to look over at her. "We'll stop them. Don't worry about it."

"I don't know how. It took all of the Bladebreakers together, plus Dranzer to stop Kai when _he_ had Black Dranzer. How can anyone normal compete with power like that?"

Hilary stood up and smiled determinedly, thinking back to the BEGA tournament. "We'll find a way. If anyone can overcome the odds it's Kai." She didn't mention Kai's lack of will to beyblade, hoping the older man had not been told. After all, Kai had been willing to use Dranzer MS last night, so maybe he would be willing to beyblade in order to stop Ren and the others.

Bruce nodded, standing up. "How about you come and visit Hiro? I'm sure he'd appreciate the attention."

"That'd be great. I'd probably like to ask him a few questions anyway." Hilary paused, "That is, if you think he's well enough for questions."

Bruce gave her a smile of reassurance and the two walked outside into the clear morning light.

* * *

When Hilary and Bruce arrived at the tent Hiro was staying in, they were surprised to find not only Hiro, but also Ozuma and Dunga standing and talking to him. All three turned almost at once to look at the newcomers; Hiro even sent a brave smile towards Hilary in an attempt to reassure her he was alright.

His chest was wrapped in bandages, though Hiro continued to insist that it looked a lot worse than it actually was. Dunga stepped back to learn against a table, arms crossed over his chest while Ozuma remained where he was. Hilary approached Hiro's bed and sat on the edge near his feet while Bruce stood near the head.

"How's it going, Champ?"

Hiro smiled up at his father, knowing the man was very worried about him. "I'm actually starting to feel better already. Ozuma has been telling me what happened last night. I thought Kai didn't beyblade anymore." He commented, looking to Hilary for a further explanation.

"I…" Hilary blushed at the attention, "Kenny gave me another version of Dranzer MS just in case. We were in really big trouble, so Kai put his feelings aside to keep the White Tigers' bit beasts safe."

Hiro didn't looked convinced, but Hilary couldn't really think of any other reason for Kai to have taken Dranzer MS from her after he had said he was no longer going to beyblade. He knew what it was like to lose a bit beast too. Unintentionally, she remembered him jumping in front of her and his weight as he pulled her down so he could protect her. The smile that formed on her face apparently didn't go unnoticed by Hiro, who gave her a questioning look that she attempted to ignore.

After a while Hiro sighed, moving attention back to himself. "So what happens now?"

Ozuma walked over to absently study some of the medical equipment that had been lying on a table, though it was obvious he had no actual interest in it. Green eyes glanced over at Dunga before looking between Mr Granger and Hiro and finally resting his eyes on Hilary.

"You'll stay here, while we Saint Shields track these three down and deal with them by any means necessary."

"Wait a minute!" Hilary protested, standing up to use her height advantage against the Saint Shields' leader. "What are you going to do to them? It's not their fault that the dark bit beasts corrupted them."

"Maybe not," Dunga agreed, "but no one forced them to use those bit beasts."

Hilary looked helplessly to Mr Granger and Hiro, both of whom were steadfastly avoiding her gaze. Obviously they agreed with the Saint Shields. "You can't be serious." She protested softly.

"Hilary," spoke Mr Granger in an attempt to sooth her, "you just met Ren. You have no idea what he or the other two were like."

"No," Hilary agreed looking at the floor, "but you said it yourself that he was a good guy. I may have only met him briefly, but I can't believe someone like Ren would hurt the people he feels he owes for giving him a chance."

Hilary stayed firm even when the Grangers looked at her with pity in her eyes, obviously thinking she was either naive or delusional. She wished Kai was here! He had been worried about Ren, but as Hilary thought about it more, she wondered if the only reason for his concern was that Kai recognised Ren would try to use the Black Driger and become corrupted the same way he apparently had.

Regardless, Hilary continued to fight them when they only met her with silence. "You're wrong! Ren's a good person."

"No one's denying it, but the fact remains that he attacked his fellow villagers and took their bit beasts without remorse." Hiro countered.

Hilary turned to Ozuma, a pleading look in her eyes, "Please, just don't hurt them. Give them a chance to set things right."

Ozuma gave her a flat look. "We may have to finish them off if they prove too much of a threat. I can't guarantee that."

With that said he turned to Mr Granger and Hiro, giving them a short, sharp nod and walked out, quickly followed by Dunga behind him. Hilary watched with fear as the tent flap swished back into place. Hilary sat back on the bed and looked to where they had just left.

"What do we do?"

"The Saint Shields are right. We have to stop them, whatever the cost." Hiro defended. "As much as I liked Ren, the fact that he attacked me without any hesitation counts against him. Hilary, there was no recognition of me or Dad when he released Black Driger. They are also more than willing to take others' bit beasts, which means they'll be gaining in power each time they defeat a strong opponent. They also had no qualms about hurting innocent people. What if next time they attack someone who can't defend themselves? What if next time Kai isn't able to save you in time? Remember, Saint Shields told me what happened. You're defending someone who was going to hurt you."

Hilary's hands, which had been resting hopelessly in her lap, scrunched into fists. She looked at Hiro with determination, standing up over him.

"I'll stop him."

"Hilary, you aren't a beyblader and you have little to no physical power with which to stop him. You can't do anything. Even Kai and I were defeated easily by them."

"Then I'll find my own way. Besides, Kai didn't have his bit beast with him." Hilary answered with determination and with that, she walked out of the tent and back towards White Tiger Hills.

* * *

By the time she got back to the village, the Saint Shields had apparently already started rallying the White Tiger village into taking action on their three rogues. Hilary stood watching in disbelief as Ren's fellow villagers banded together to stop and possibly end Ren, Li Mei and Meng.

Unable to watch, she went over to where Kai was recovering. Hilary pushed back the cloth over the door and quietly stepped inside, her eyes slowly adjusting to the small amount of light that was in the room. On the far side of the room, Kai was still lying on his front with bandages wrapped around his torso and arms. Hilary was suddenly reminded of what he had looked like after Brooklyn had been defeated.

Noting that he was still asleep, Hilary walked over to the bed and sat down on the side. There was the temptation to touch him, but Hilary stopped herself only centimetres from touching the hair that had fallen in front of his face. Letting out a sigh of resignation she let her hands fall back into her lap and stared at him. He even looked guarded in sleep.

Hilary barely registered the first few tears that fell, but after a couple hit her arms, Hilary brought up her legs to her chest and wrapped her arms around them. She continued to cry more loudly, needing some sort of release from the situation.

She kept crying for a few more minutes until she felt a tentative hand resting on her back. Hilary lifted her head up and wiped the tears from her eyes to get a good look at the body that the comforting arm was attached to. The hand was retracted from her shoulder as if it had been burned and Hilary flushed with embarrassment when she realised Kai was staring at her with a mixture of sleepy confusion and concern, one arm propping him up uncomfortably as he looked at her.

"Sorry." Hilary apologised, wiping away the residual tears while she stood up to make room.

With some difficulty, Kai rolled over and sat up, making sure that he didn't lean his back against anything. Despite taking things slowly, he couldn't help the wince as he twisted around. Hilary looked at him in concern, but he seemed to ignore the look and once he was settled on the side of the bed Hilary sat down again.

"So," Hilary began nervously, her voice still shaky, "how're you feeling?"

Kai moved to shrug, but then seemed to remember his back and instead answered, "I've had worse."

Hilary gave him an unimpressed look, "That's not saying much."

A quirk of the lips gave way to a smirk. He turned to look at her and Hilary felt her breath catch. His eyes had looked so dull and void of hope since the battle against BEGA, but amongst the coals was a spark that she hadn't seen in a long time. She couldn't help the smile that crept its way across her face at the sight.

Later on Hilary would convince herself that she was just happy to see Kai would be alright, but when the cloth swept back Hilary realised how close she had gotten to Kai. Pulling away as if they'd been caught doing something they shouldn't, Hilary's head whipped around to the door to see Marium glancing between the two of them with a puzzled look on her face.

"Can we help you?" Hilary just about registered Kai's sharp tone towards the only female member of the Saint Shields.

"Hey, I didn't realise I was interrupting anything. Besides, Kai, you should still be lying in bed. You were beaten up pretty badly and the last thing I need is to redo those bandages any more than I already have to. Speaking of which…"

She walked over and motioned for Kai to turn around, who glared at her for a moment before complying grudgingly. Marium rolled her eyes at his antics before she began to unwrap the bandage surprisingly carefully for a beyblader that did not have a reputation for being gentle. The only thing that seemed to give away Kai's discomfort was his sharp intakes of breath every so often.

Marium let out a small hiss and Hilary covered her mouth when the bandages were off. It looked as if a tiger had raked its claws along his back. Fortunately, it seemed none of them had penetrated too deeply or were too wide since nothing appeared infected or open anymore.

"You need to be careful. The last thing we need is to be redoing all the hard work we did last night." Marium advised before wrapping a clean set of bandages around his torso.

Kai nodded and glanced over to Hilary, who probably looked as if she was about to faint. Marium followed his eye line and sighed as she tied off the clean bandage. Grabbing a chair, she walked over and forced Hilary to sit down.

"I do not need you fainting while I'm looking after him. If you need to step out please tell me, preferably before you actually keel over."

Hilary nodded and looked over at Kai, giving him a weak smile to try to reassure him she was alright. Finally, Marium finished with his arms and gave Kai a once over as he turned around to face her. She gave a sharp nod of satisfaction before walking to the entrance of the room.

"Ozuma's called a town meeting to discuss what is going to be done about the rogue beybladers." She explained as she pulled back the curtain, ready to step outside. "So far he's merely explained what has happened at the site. I'm sure Hilary can fill you in if you want to be brought up to speed."

Kai looked over at his shredded shirt, which was also covered in blood. He rolled his eyes before walking outside after Marium, leaving the bandages exposed. Hilary was quick to jump up and follow, grabbing Kai's hand for a moment to get his attention.

"They're going after Ren and the other two from last night."

"What did you expect?"

Hilary, hurt by Kai's tone of voice, grabbed Kai's hand forcibly and pulled him around. "How can you say that? I thought you were worried about Ren!"

"I was _worried_ that he would do exactly what has happened! Now that he has Black Driger, he's a threat to the village and every beyblader he can reach with a bit beast."

Kai pulled his hand out of her grasp and continued to walk towards the mass of people that had gathered for the meeting. Hilary followed at a more subdued pace, trying to think of a way to convince them to help save Ren.

It was difficult to see over the crowds, but Ozuma was standing on a set of boxes above everyone else, the other Saint Shields standing behind him with their hoods down. The sun shone down on them, while many in the audience stood under the shade of trees to keep cool from the surprisingly hot morning air.

Hilary glanced around for the White Tiger team, but couldn't see them over the adults that were in the crowd. She barely caught Kai walking to another area out of the corner of her eye. At first she wanted to follow after him, but remembering the things he said, Hilary thought better of it and found a tree to lean against.

"Everyone's getting very serious about this, aren't they?"

Hilary looked up at the voice to see Mystel sitting on one of the stronger branches of the tree just above her. She managed to give him a small smile – she didn't feel much like smiling anymore today - and he gave her a brilliant one in return.

"I didn't realise you were here, Mystel."

Mystel dropped down turned to face her. "Well, after BEGA there wasn't really anywhere else for me to go, so I decided to come back here. The White Tigers were kind enough to let me stay and now I train with them."

"Does that mean you know anything about Ren, Li Mei or Meng?"

"Not much. Most of the ones who can't make it beyblading go and work at the site, whether that's in manual labour or becoming experts on the artefacts found there. I don't go down there much, so I'm afraid I don't know the people that well. Sorry."

Hilary couldn't stop the disappointment from showing. "It's okay. It's not your fault this has happened."

"Maybe, but I also know what it's like to get pulled into something you don't realise is bad until it's too late."

"That's why I thought Kai would be more understanding. According to Tyson, Kai grew up in a place run by Boris where he turned kids into emotionless soldiers who would only care about winning, but Kai was able to overcome that when the Bladebreakers gave him another chance. I would think he would want to make sure Ren got a second chance too."

Mystel shrugged, "I don't pretend to understand Kai…"

The conversation stopped when they realised Ozuma was starting to speak again. Everyone listened with rapt attention as he talked about what they thought would be necessary to deal with the rogue beybladers. There was a shocked silence when he finished, but the crowd quickly turned angry as various people shouted out solutions, most of them hostile towards Ren and the others. Hilary quickly scanned the crowd for Kai, but was unable to find him to see his reaction.

"The Black Bit Beasts have been released." Ozuma concluded. "The Saint Shields will hunt them down and remove the threat. If necessary we will end the beybladers who are wielding their power."

Shouts of approval rose to crush the sound of a couple of protests given. Hilary wondered if they were the families of Ren, Li Mei and Meng. People began filing away soon afterwards and Hilary watched as Kai approached the Saint Shields along with the members of the White Tiger team and Tao. Hilary and Mystel nodded to each other before also walking over to join in on the conversation.

"Lee, you will stay here just in case the Black Bit Beasts attack again. Should that happen, don't try to fight them unless people's lives are in danger." Ozuma instructed.

"I can help if you need any." Mystel offered, which Lee greatly accepted.

"The rest of you," Ozuma continued, "will stay here and not get in the way. We will return your bit beasts as soon as we have them."

"You can't be serious!" Hilary exclaimed, glaring at them furiously. "I'm not letting you go on some witch-hunt..."

"Hilary," Kai interrupted in a stern voice, "that's enough."

Hilary didn't know whether the anger, the shame or the betrayal she felt was stronger at that moment. Looking at Kai in that moment, who was not even making eye contact with her, she could feel the burning in her throat and tears threatening to fall, but she refused to let them – not in front of _them_.

"I see." She just about managed to reply with a shaky voice.

Not even bothering to look at the others reactions – whether it would be Kai's disgust, Ozuma's annoyance or Kevin's amusement, she didn't care anymore – Hilary turned and headed for the room she had shared with Mariah. Furiously throwing clothes into her suitcase, Hilary finally let the tears fall down her face, not bothering to stop the sob that escaped her throat.

It wasn't packed properly, but Hilary did not want to stay long enough to even look at any of them. Picking up her suitcase, she walked out of the hut and towards the riverboat, not even bothering to look back.

* * *

**Reviews have really helped me to improve this story in the past, so I would very much appreciate any feedback you can give me. Thank you for your continued support.**

**Posted 22/07/11**


	9. Showdown at the Shrine

**Sorry I have forgotten to say this sooner, but this story does not take into account the events of the beyblade movie. Unfortunately I have a different direction I want to take the dark bit beasts which I don't think matches up to the movie's storyline. Now here's the next chapter as promised:**

* * *

_**Showdown at the Shrine  
**_

"That's it," Kai decided silently, "I am never going to understand girls – never in my lifetime at least."

Having found a light shirt he could wear loosely over his back and didn't aggravate his wounds, he carefully slipped it on. All his clothes were already packed, so all he needed to do was grab his bag and rush out. He briefly checked the building Hilary had been staying, but was unsurprised to find both Hilary and her suitcase gone.

As fast as his wounds would allow, Kai walked towards the riverbank, figuring that she would first go back to the archaeological site to obtain a way home. He was a bit surprised to find her just standing on the edge of the river, looking across but making no signal that she wanted to be on the other side. He paused a metre or two away from her and stared at her back for a second before gaining her attention softly.

"Hilary."

Hilary turned around to look at him when Kai said her name. Her eyes were red and puffy from crying, making her glare towards him seem a bit unnecessary. Kai could barely think of a few things _less_ terrifying.

"I'm going after Ren and you can't stop me, Kai." She said with determination. "I know he can be helped even if everyone else has given up."

Kai covered his surprise with indifference, "And how far do you think you're going to get dragging that behind you?" He asked, gesturing towards her suitcase. "Besides," he continued ruthlessly, "what are you going to do when you find him?"

"Shut up!" Hilary shouted angrily, fresh tears falling down her cheeks. "At least I'm doing something to help him, which is more than I can say for you. You're just a coward, letting the Saint Shields deal with your problem. No wonder Dranzer doesn't want you!"

Anger flowed through his veins, fuelled mostly by shame and the knowledge she was right to an extent. He had been running away from who he was by thinking he could quit beyblading, but that was going to stop. "Neither of us stand a chance against those bit beasts, Hilary, and you know it." He stormed towards her so that he was centimetres from his face. "Now let's find you a reasonable bag to carry and go after them."

He turned around and stormed away before Hilary could make any kind of comeback. He almost got back to the town centre before Hilary finally caught up with him.

"Wait." She pleaded, grabbing his shoulder and turning him to face, "What did you say? I thought you said you didn't care about Ren."

Kai just barely stopped himself from rolling his eyes. Honestly, she was acting like Tyson rushing off in front of him without a plan. "We're going after them. I may not know Ren or the others, but they won't stop until they have everyone's bit beasts. We know the Saint Shields can overreact when it comes to people abusing bit beasts, so we need to get to Ren and the others first. Is there anything _else_ you want to ask to slow us down or are you going to help me look for a more suitable bag for you to carry?"

Kai had to suddenly brace himself when Hilary wrapped his arms around his neck and hugged him tightly (though he was internally thankful she hadn't touched any of his wounds). He felt the tears still falling down her cheeks bleed through his shirt.

"Thank you, Kai." She said with sincerity as she pulled back to look at his face.

Kai looked away in embarrassment, "Next time you should wait before rushing off and doing your own thing."

He glanced at her as she unwrapped her arms from around his neck and stepped out of his personal space; her hands now on her hips and a look of disapproval on her face. "Only if you stop being mysterious and tell me what you're going to do. For goodness sake, Kai, I'm on your side!"

"I was _not_ going to tell you my plan in front of the Saint Shields." He argued, annoyed. Hilary's expression turned from scolding to upset and Kai internally panicked at the idea of her crying again, causing him to add a grudging, "I'll try."

She wiped the remaining tears away and smiled up at him. "That's all I ask."

The two found another bag and Hilary transferred her necessities into it. Kai watched her smooth out the creases before folding each item individually and placing them in the bag.

Suddenly Hilary paused. "Kai?" She waited for him to give a sign he was listening before continuing, "I'm sorry I called you a coward, especially after saving me last night." She turned to look at him. "You're one of the bravest people I know and I do want Dranzer to return to you; you deserve it."

Kai sighed, suddenly feeling he should be saying something eloquent in response or equally sentimental, but not knowing what that should be. "You were right, I was being a coward." He started, bringing out Dranzer MS to look at, before glancing back towards Hilary. "I never meant you to think I didn't respect you." Although he didn't say the words, he hoped that Hilary could hear the apology he meant, but couldn't express.

Hilary placed the last item in her bag and slung it over her shoulder, turning to Kai with a satisfied smile. "So, where to?"

"The Saint Shields told me of a shrine up in the mountains that contains a stone of sealed bit beasts. Ren and the others will probably eventually be going after those bit beasts to gain more power."

Hilary nodded in determination, "What are we waiting for, then?"

* * *

Rather than crossing at the river in front of the village, the two walked further up to find a place they could cross without being reported to the Saint Shields by one of the villagers. They soon found themselves at the bottom of some steep rocks. Kai began climbing up, turning to Hilary to help her climb the larger rocks when she seemed to be having trouble.

The sun rose higher in the sky and Kai was glad they were walking beside the river, if only so they could use it to cool off if they got too hot. The buzz of bugs around them filled the air and the occasional rustling of trees when the wind began to pick up. Kai pointed the direction, but for the most part stayed behind Hilary and let her set the pace. When his wounds started to bother him Hilary insisted on sitting down for some lunch – a small thing they had quickly packed before leaving.

Hilary looked much happier than she had that morning, for which Kai was glad. He was terrible when with only one other person, because he or she would always expect him to say things. He much preferred to listen to others and add something to the conversation if he wanted to (which even he would admit was rarely). He was terrible when it came to reading people's emotions. Oh, he was great at reading an opponent and predicting his moves and reactions; but get him into a social situation and Kai was completely out of his depth.

When both had finished Kai gestured to Hilary to check she was ready to go. Hilary gave him a worried look.

"What about your bandages? Shouldn't you maybe change them?"

"They're fine for now." Kai replied, slinging his bag over his shoulder. "I'll change them tonight."

It seemed to satisfy Hilary and Kai couldn't help but find her concern for him endearing, if completely unnecessary. Once again, he had Hilary stay in front as they walked further up into the mountains.

* * *

Ren sat on a sturdy branch above a small waterfall, watching the water crash down and spraying outwards when it hit the rocks while his two new teammates washed off. He was barely paying attention to them, but figured they would let him know if they wanted him to contribute to the discussion.

"Man, I can't believe how easy it was to take the White Tigers' bit beasts. The fact that they're considered world class beybladers is a joke. We could totally go to the next World Championships and have everyone's bit beasts by the end." Meng bragged, looking down at the hand clutching his beyblade, proudly displaying his new bit beast.

Meng was taller than both Li Mei and Ren by at least a head. He had gone through a growth spurt suddenly and his body hadn't adjusted, making him look quite lanky. Both he and Li Mei had the same gold eyes that were so common in the rest of the White Tiger village. Unlike many in the village, Meng kept his dark purple – almost black – hair short. He was currently lounging on the ground, looking up at Li Mei, who was standing facing the two boys with her arms crossed over her chest.

"Don't get too ahead of yourself, Meng. We didn't get Lee's bit beast and Ray wasn't in the village, so the White Tiger is still out there too." Li Mei countered practically, glancing at Ren for his support.

"So what'll we do about those Saint Shield guys? I still say we could've taken them then and there." Meng stated, pointing the comment towards Ren, who had ordered the retreat.

"You're right, the Saint Shields won't be a problem, but they will be if we underestimate them." Ren explained. "We'll lead them right into a trap and then finish them off." He finished, gripping his white beyblade tightly.

Li Mei flicked one of the strands of her black hair from her face, though the gesture seemed unnecessary since it fell right back into its original position. "So what're you worried about then, Ren?"

Ren narrowed his eyes at some unseen target, which made Li Mei and Meng give each other a look before he answered. "That newcomer, Kai; he could be trouble."

The lone female gave a shrill laugh of disbelief. "You're kidding, right? If he had _had_ a bit beast, we would have already taken it from him in that last fight. If _he's_ the only one you're worried about, then we don't have anything to fear."

"Don't underestimate him." Growled Ren and both his companions looked up at him in surprise at his tone. "Kai may not have a bit beast, but I bet even you two felt it. He had Black Dranzer."

"Yeah, I felt it." Meng replied without a shred of worry in his voice. "But if he does have Black Dranzer he firstly wouldn't have had issues about using it against us and secondly he more-likely would have joined us. The four Black Bit Beasts are destined to be used together."

Ren snorted at the ridiculous thought of combining their powers, "I still want him taken out of the picture. He could develop into a problem."

Li Mei sighed, "Well, why don't we go through with our plan to get to the shrine and take those bit beasts? If Kai _does_ want to stop us, then we'll meet him there eventually."

"What about the Saint Shields?" Meng asked.

"You two go to the shrine and don't do anything until I get there." Ren ordered. "I'll deal with the Saint Shields and then meet you there."

* * *

"I'm assuming the shrine is up that." Hilary commented, craning her neck upwards to look at the top of the mountain in front of them, shielding her eyes from the sun – which was slowly being covered by ominous dark clouds – with one hand. "Why couldn't it be built in a convenient place? Don't they realise we have to get there quickly?"

Kai didn't let his amusement show, instead ushering Hilary on up the winding path towards the summit where the shrine was said to be. They took short water breaks every-so-often as they ascended the path. The pace was reasonable and both seemed comfortable with it, especially because the trees were not providing much of a relief from the increasingly hot and humid weather.

They finally reached the shrine in the late afternoon, though it was quite dark due to the thickening cloud cover. At first, it seemed as if they were the only ones there. Kai silently signalled Hilary to wait outside as he walked up the stone steps that led into the dark wooden shrine. It took a few moments for his eyes to adjust to the near-darkness compared to the outside, but he quickly found what he was looking for. A stone was lying out on a table at the far end of the shrine and as Kai approached it, he noticed the writing he expected to see. Breathing a sigh of relief, Kai had little time to celebrate when he felt something at the back of his mind telling him the dark bit beasts were here. Not knowing exactly what the feeling meant, Kai decided to listen to it and rushed back outside just as Hilary let out a piercing scream.

* * *

The four Saint Shields walked along a path running through a dense forest. While Ozuma figured that the dark beybladers would be moving towards the shrine for a confrontation, there was also a possibility that at least one would grow impatient and attack them, thus giving the Saint Shields the advantage in numbers. Because Ozuma wasn't sure they could stop all three of the dark beybladers at once, the Saint Shields took a slower path that would eventually lead to the shrine, but not for a day longer.

Suddenly Marium stopped, eyes shifting through the trees. The three boys stopped and turned to look at her in silent question, but she continued to stay quiet and alert. Finally, Dunga got impatient.

"Marium, what're you…"

He was unable to finish his sentence due to a white beyblade shooting between them and heading straight for Marium. She dodged it easily and released her own beyblade in response. All four members of the Saint Shields turned to look up at the newcomer; the three boys also getting ready to launch their beyblades.

"I'm impressed you dodged that. I guess I should've put more power into it after all." Ren commented lazily with a smug smirk on his face as he watched the team below him. "Where's Lee? Don't tell me you're all that's coming?"

"Hey, watch it, kid!"

"Careful Dunga." Joseph warned his teammate before the taller boy could do something rash.

Ren elegantly jumped off the branch and down onto the ground before them. "Oh well," he shrugged, "I guess I'll just have to settle for your bit beasts and go after my dear temporary leader's at a later point."

"I suggest you don't underestimate us." Ozuma warned, but Ren merely laughed him off.

Dunga, Joseph and Ozuma launched their beyblades, such that the four Saint Shields' beyblades surrounded the foreign white beyblade. The smirk on Ren's face turned into a grin, splitting into maniacal laughter.

"Black Driger, devour them!"

No one was going to quit, as each of the four Saint Shields sent their bit beasts towards Black Driger in a burst of bright light.

* * *

Blinking to adjust his eyes once again to the outside, Kai looked over to see the two beybladers – Li Mei and Meng – standing before them. Neither of them had their beyblades out and ready, but Kai knew he was outmatched even if the threat wasn't there yet. The two could have been here for hours, resting until their opponents arrived, while he and Hilary had been walking up a mountain for most of the afternoon. While the climb hadn't been particularly difficult, Kai knew he wasn't at full strength due to the previous evening's events. To make things worse, he was without a bit beast and up against Black Dragoon and Black Draceil. Kai was not overly excited about his odds of winning, though he wasn't about to show it.

"Just stay out of our way, Hiwatari, and you can walk off of this mountain unharmed." Meng bargained.

"And if I refuse?" Kai asked, readying his beyblade with grim determination.

A sinister smile spread across Li Mei's face, "Then it's a shame we have to get rid of such a handsome guy."

Both Li Mei and Meng took out and launched their beyblades in the same instant that Kai launched his own. Out of the corner of his eye, Kai noted where Hilary was and made sure to stand between her and their opponents. Despite having a beyblade, she didn't stand a chance against these guys, especially if they gained the bit beasts from the stone as well; not that he stood a chance against them by himself, he reminded himself cynically.

The beyblades weaved in and around each other, no one quite daring to make the first move. Finally, Meng seemed to get impatient and ordered an attack.

"Just give it up, Hiwatari. You don't stand a chance against us."

Kai refused to answer, instead sending Dranzer MS into a collision course with Meng's beyblade. Meng grinned in response, quickly overpowering Kai's beyblade. Li Mei continued to keep her beyblade back, probably ready to step in if things suddenly went against Meng. Kai knew there was no way of winning this match, but that had never stopped him before and he wasn't about to give up. Maybe he would get lucky and the Saint Shields would arrive in time even if it was unlikely.

Kai heard a gasp from behind him, but ignored it in favour of the feeling of storing up energy in his beyblade that he hadn't felt since battling Brooklyn. He barely registered the fact that a dark blue mist had once again engulfed him and his beyblade.

"Go Dranzer!"

The beyblade slammed into Meng's, sending it flying backwards. He looked up and smirked at his two shocked opponents.

"Looks like we're going to have to bring out the heavy artillery after all." Meng commented, surprised but unthreatened, before releasing his bit beast.

Kai was never quite sure what happened in the seconds that followed, but the next thing he knew he had been thrown back into the shrine, taking out one of the small tables inside as he slid into it. Blinking away the stars, Kai barely had enough time to roll to the side and out of the way of Meng's beyblade as it attacked him and Dranzer mercilessly. Flipping horizontally around onto his feet and balancing with his hands, he used all four limbs to push off an attack at Meng. The other beyblader had obviously not been expecting such a desperate attack and was sent flying back out and onto the ground, the wind punched out of him due to Kai's awkward landing on him.

Smiling down triumphantly, Kai had almost completely forgotten about Li Mei standing ready with her bit beast. Kai had less than a second to look up before he was slammed to the side and off of Meng. He skidded along the ground, coming to a stop a few feet away, back slamming into some rocks. Breath ragged, he attempted to push himself up and get ready to move out of the way of the attack he knew would be coming. He watched the two wearily as Li Mei helped her partner up and began to walk towards him – surprisingly without ordering her beyblade to attack him.

"Well I'll give you some credit, you really don't know when to quit."

"I'll take that as a compliment." Kai replied with a defiant, but pain-filled grin on his face before spitting out saliva mixed with blood, thankful to see it appeared to be from a cut in his mouth rather than more serious internal damage.

"You're a fool." She said, before stepping one of her feet down on his back. "Do you really think you stand a chance against us without a bit beast?"

"Kai!"

Kai looked over in horror as Hilary ran towards him only to be caught in Meng's grasp. The tall beyblader pulled her close to his chest, preventing her escape. Kai struggled, feeling the energy from before increase and making it impossible to ignore the dark blue mist covering him. Dranzer suddenly shot towards Li Mei, forcing her to jump back and away from him. Kai defiantly pushed himself into a half-standing position, but even he knew he wouldn't last much longer.

"Let her go." He gritted out with a deadly tone, showing as little weakness as possible.

"You know what?" Li Mei taunted, "That would be so much more intimidating if you weren't close to fainting. Black Dragoon, finish him off!"

Kai, in desperation, felt a pulse of wild energy around him that quickly transferred to his beyblade and went straight into her own. Her eyes reflected Kai's own surprise as several pieces of her beyblade suddenly flew off in various directions. Unfortunately, the effort did worse damage to Dranzer MS, causing its attack ring to shatter in several places. That last burst of energy had been everything Kai had left and he felt himself falling as Hilary was dragged away by both beybladers. Even with his darkening vision he kept his eyes on the retreating figures and a brilliant fire that seemed to spring up behind them in the shape of a bird.

* * *

**Just a quick question: how are you finding the pace of the story? Is it a bit fast/ too slow are are you finding it just about right? As I said in the last chapter the next update should be up two weeks from Friday. **

**Posted: 02/08/11**


	10. Lies My Family Told Me

**Just as a warning, the POV shifts around quite a bit to start with before settling in the scene. I've tried to make it as clear as possible, but let me know if you get confused.**

**A big thank you to zulka (thanks for pointing out the typo) and treckasasuke whose reviews I've very much appreciated, but have not been able to reply personally to.**

* * *

_**Lies My Family Told Me**_

The fire crackled and spat sparks into the almost-clear night. The threatening cloud cover during the day had amounted to nothing and instead the moon shone down brightly, though the halo around it seemed to be the only sign of a thin mist still in the sky. A man poked the fire with a separate stick, sending up more sparks straight up into the night sky. Bugs chirped around them in the dark, drawn towards the flames and creating a subdued symphony surrounding the clearing.

A teen lay on the other side of the fire on top of a soft sleeping bag, which the man had rolled out to make the boy – no young man – more comfortable. Dirt and blood had mixed together on the his skin, turning to mud in other places where the man had tried to clean wounds, but had obviously given up once he could see there was no risk of infection. The fire crackled again and the man turned his dark red eyes back onto the young man, who continued to rest soundly.

A large crack of splintering wood finally pulled Kai into wakefulness. Blinking groggily, he attempted to sit up only for someone to gently lay a hand on Kai's chest. This was enough to make Kai pause, but fortunately not enough to aggravate the wounds on his back. Finally he was able to focus on the man, whose face was only partially visible due to the fire. Despite that Kai would know that man's figure anywhere.

"You!" Kai exclaimed, before struggling to sit up quickly.

However, the man's hand remained firm as well as his voice. "Enough Kai; you need to rest."

Kai obeyed, but only because _he_ wanted to – a fact he would have to make very clear. "You lost all right to tell me what to do the day you left, Susumu!"

Susumu flinched back, obviously hurt by Kai's words. "Maybe, but that doesn't mean I stopped caring about you."

Kai glared at the man, though it was less effective when he was still lying on the ground. Carefully this time, he rested his elbows on the ground and pushed himself slowly up to a sitting position, attempting to brush off some of the dust and dirt that insisted on still clinging to him.

"How did you find me?" Kai asked in a completely dead tone, seemingly more accepting of the man's presence, though not happy about it.

"Mr Dickenson said…"

"I should have known." Kai snorted, matter-of-factly. "You'd never lower yourself to watch your _only son_ yourself. It would be so much more _convenient_ for someone else to do it for you."

"Kai…" Susumu tried to reason.

"No!" Kai once again interrupted him, getting more and more agitated by the man's presence. "What are you doing here anyway? Did Dickenson pay you to come or have you gone crawling back under Grandfather's thumb and he sent you to convince me to come back again?"

A pained expression crossed Susumu's face, but it soon morphed into disapproval it seemed only a parent was able to achieve. "You know Voltaire disowned me, Kai." He stated reasonably. "I am never going back. As for why I am here…" He gently clasped Kai's hand in his own, though the teen just looked at it blankly, deliberately not returning any feelings. "I want to help you, Kai."

A horrendous laugh split from Kai's lips, filled with pain and betrayal as he recalled the same words coming from his grandfather's lips when the old man had tempted him with Black Dranzer during his match with Spenser. Finally, Kai looked up at his father in disbelief. "Well that's nice of you. So where exactly were you to help me when I was in that Godforsaken abbey; or when Grandfather was using me to find and capture the World's bit beasts against my will?"

"I know I should have been there." Susumu agreed, sighing. He looked into the fire silently for a moment. "I should have realised what Voltaire was planning before I left. He thought beyblades were pointless; I never thought he would try to use them to take over the World."

"He didn't at first." Kai admitted, calming down enough to keep his emotions in check again. Facts were easier to deal with than emotions anyway. "I think it was when he saw his first bit beast that he got the idea of using beyblades as weapons. As for child soldiers, it's not as if any of us would ever speak against him."

Susumu nodded, accepting the small bit of information his son would allow. He glanced over at Kai, who was running his finger through the dirt – a nervous habit Susumu remembered from when his son was a young child.

Susumu could still remember the boy who loved to beyblade more than anything else. The two of them would practice for hours, completely losing track of time, before Kai's mother would finally call them out to eat something. At first Susumu had been able to balance his beyblade research with work his father expected of him, but as the years went on Voltaire expected more and more from his only son. It all built up to one final confrontation:

* * *

"You wanted to see me Father."

Susumu Hiwatari stood before his father's desk in a dark oak room. Voltaire was sat down on a chair behind his desk, hands interlaced together with his elbows on the surface. A scowl was on his face that looked like permanent feature, deep lines gouged into his skin in a look of disapproval – something Susumu was used to seeing by now. Susumu's face by contrast remained impassive – just as his father had always taught him.

"It has come to my attention that you need to make a decision, Susumu." He finally began, resting back in his chair and looking down on the younger man despite being lower down. Susumu made a point of stopping himself from standing up straighter in response – a small rebellion against his father's expectations, but it did give him a certain level of satisfaction.

Silence continued to pass as Susumu waited for his father to continue. The only noise in the room that could be heard was the small clock on Voltaire's desk. Both continued to stare at each other until the room became stifling. Voltaire obviously wanted his son to crack first and ask a question, but when the silence stretched further he seemed to relent.

"Tell me Susumu; what do you care more about: your _beyblades_," he said with contempt dripping from his lips, "or this company, which I have slaved over to give you – _my family_ – a better life?"

"Dad?" Susumu had no time to reply, only turning to look in horror as Kai stepped out from the side door, looking at him shyly as if asking permission to come in, obviously sensing the tension in the room. His son had always been a bright kid.

Susumu knew Kai's arrival was timed, especially when his wife walked in behind his son. He looked into her eyes, feeling both hurt and betrayed, but she merely smiled at him as if she had no idea what she had just done. She always had been a brilliant actor, Susumu conceded bitterly. It was then that he heard his father's silent ultimatum: will you pursue your pathetic dream of being a beyblade researcher or keep your son and follow my every order?

He loved his son more than anything, but if being near his son meant that he had to become a slave to Voltaire and his ambition then he knew the answer. Susumu knew his father's greed was insatiable and he wanted nothing more to do with the old man. He looked down at the five-year-old boy – who watched him, puzzled – with regret. He would not be able to take his son aside and reassure him that he was still Susumu's world. Instead, he gave his answer and turned his back on his only son, making sure he never saw the look of betrayal.

"I choose beyblades."

* * *

"You didn't even look back."

The emotion was completely gone from Kai's voice and Susumu wondered if that was something he had learned as a defence mechanism in the Abbey. Susumu couldn't deny the truth to his son and the excuses seemed shallow after so many years of absence.

"I would have stayed if I had." Susumu confessed. "I would have taken you if I could have, especially if I had known exactly what he was planning."

Kai nodded, but whether it was just showing he had listened or whether he was accepting Susumu, the older man was unsure. The teen sighed and rubbed the bridge of his nose between his thumb and first finger. Finally, he looked up to the sky before starting to speak again.

"I tried to hate you. It was just about the only emotion Grandfather encouraged. Even when I lost my memories of the Abbey, I remembered you as soon as I launched Dranzer after the accident. I remembered that you'd given it to me just before you left."

"Do you remember what I said to you?"

"You said Dranzer's bit beast was looking for someone special and that I was the only one you trusted to find him."

Susumu smiled and moved closer to rest a hand on one of his son's knees.

"It's funny really;" Kai continued, "how I can remember that and yet my memories of the Abbey are still a blur."

"I saw the exhibition match." Susumu admitted, pausing before he continued, "You know, the one where you first used Black Dranzer? It was the first time I had seen you in seven years and the only thing I could think about was rushing to get to Moscow to save you.

"Mr Dickenson heard about my plan, though, and told me to stay where I was. Then the next thing I saw, you were back on the Japan team and standing up to your grandfather on your own, risking everything to do so." Susumu paused, catching Kai's eye. "I do not think I have ever been more proud."

Kai shrugged, possibly embarrassed by the praise. Susumu felt a pang of guilt for not being surer.

"I wish I could have seen more of your matches, but I was never able to. Even with my position in the BBA Research Department I found little time to see your matches on television. Despite that I would always grill Mr Dickenson for the details on how you were doing."

"You called him?"

"Yes, but I asked him not to let you know, because I was worried it might throw off your game and we knew you were under enough pressure from Voltaire. Besides, you seemed to be doing pretty well without me distracting you." He added, laughing.

Kai didn't join in the laughter, instead he glanced past his father towards the fire, his voice coming out as a whisper, "Yeah."

Silence stretched on and Susumu was quick to change the topic slightly, aware of the obvious tension in the camp. "You seem to have made good friends with the Bladebreakers."

Kai nodded, a twitch of a smile on his face, "Not for lack of effort on their part."

"I can understand why."

Kai frowned, possibly wondering what his father meant by that, but Susumu remained tight-lipped. He knew it took a lot for Kai to trust people, which Susumu knew was mostly his family's fault. The fact that the Bladebreakers had _not_ given up made Susumu eternally in their debt for saving his son. Kai had always been naturally quiet, but he had been good a choosing friends. Susumu was glad to see his son's friends had seen the good in Kai to give so much to save him from Black Dranzer's corruption.

"Whatever." Kai brushed the words off as he stood up. "I need to go and find Hilary."

Susumu frowned, "Is this to do with why I found you passed out by a shrine that has seen better days?"

Kai straightened, his hand tightening into a fist. "Two of them captured Hilary." Panic suddenly spread across his face. "There was a stone with writing on it. Is it still in the shrine?"

"You mean this one?" Susumu asked, pulling out the ancient seal from his bag.

Kai relaxed and nodded, looking back towards the shrine. "I don't understand why they didn't take it with them, though."

"Your friend might have been giving them enough trouble." Susumu lied. "They might have had to choose between them and decided to choose her to get more leverage over you."

Kai did not look entirely convinced, but he seemingly accepted the information anyway. "I have to go after them."

"Are you not hungry?" Susumu asked, rapidly changing the conversation such that his son looked at him with suspicion. "I'm not the best of cooks," he admitted, taking a pot from the small burner beside the campfire, "but it _should be_ hot and filling."

Kai looked about to protest at how irrelevant that comment was, when Susumu anticipated his response, "Kai, your friend is in danger, but rushing into a fight with those dark beybladers is going to get both you and her hurt or worse. Besides, you would probably be running straight into a trap. We have something they want, so it is more likely they will come back to finish what they started, and if we are lucky they will probably bring your friend with them.

"Rest tonight and get your strength back, and have faith that she has the will find a way to hold on. I would think that if she is able to keep up with you boys then she must be pretty tough herself."

Kai sat back down with a sigh and held out one of his hands without acknowledging the logic his father's point verbally. Susumu smiled at his son's behaviour and placed a bowl of food with a spoon in Kai's hand, making sure the bowl was secure before letting go. Kai tentatively brought up the spoon to his lips and took a sip.

"Your cooking hasn't improved." Kai said in deadpan, but Susumu could tell there was a bit of affection in there as well.

"Hey, if you want to insult the chef then you are more than welcome to cook yourself!" Susumu replied with a laugh, attempting to sound insulted.

A twitch of the lips on one side of Kai's face confirmed his amusement and Susumu broke out into a huge grin, laughing deeply as he tucked into his own. The silence was no longer as oppressive as it had been to start with and there were even some points that it almost felt comfortable.

It wasn't much longer before Kai laid down to get some rest for the eventual battle that would most-likely break out the next day. Susumu watched his son for some time, content just to know Kai was safe and in his sights after so many years. Once Susumu could hear his son's softened breathing did he walk over and lay a light blanket on top.

"Sleep well, Son."

* * *

Kai awoke the next morning to the sounds of birds singing in the trees surrounding them, replacing the bugs from the night before. A thin mist had settled around them, but was quickly being burned away by the warmth of the Sun. Glancing down, he noticed a blanket that he had not remembered using when he had gone to sleep. Kai was unable to stop the short snort of affection at his father's actions and turned his attention to the sleeping man in question on the other side of the burnt-out fire.

Feeling more refreshed, Kai stood up and shook the dew out of his hair. The sun was just creeping above the treeline and Kai felt better with the warmth on his back. He walked over towards his bag, which his father must have found, and started rummaging around for a change of clothes. Pulling a few items out, including a loose shirt, Kai went to a nearby stream he could hear and proceeded to remove all the dirt and blood he had accumulated on his skin from the day before.

When he was finally content with his level of cleanliness, Kai stepped out and shook off all the excess drops of water. Having no towel, Kai took advantage of the sunny weather and sat on some rocks to dry a bit more. He took the time to squeeze some more of the water out of his hair and look at the scrapes he had accumulated from the last couple of days (it seemed as if more time should have passed).

Kai noted that his wounds were much slower to heal than they used to be and he wondered if his bit beast had been responsible for his amazingly good health and fast healing. Leaning back slightly with a relaxed sigh, Kai felt the sun on his skin and enjoyed the moment of peace for a few more minutes while he dried off.

After a few more minutes of sitting in the sunlight, Kai decided he could put on his clothes without soaking them through. However, instead of putting his shirt on, Kai decided to put it over his shoulder and carry his older clothes in his arms back to camp, since he would need to take it off again to reapply his bandages anyway.

Arriving back into the clearing, he pulled out the clean bandages he had packed and rewrapped them around his arms. While the bleeding had stopped, Kai appreciated having a bit more protection if he got into any more fights, which he expected he would get into today.

Deciding he would swallow his pride and ask his father to help with his back, Kai pulled his shirt over his head with much less difficulty than the previous day after dropping his old clothes on top of his bag. Finally able to achieve his goal, Kai glanced down to another bag that he hadn't noticed earlier. Turning around, he checked that his father was still asleep before turning back to the other bag wondering if it belonged to the old man. As soon as he glanced inside at the contents, Kai realised it was Hilary's and he knelt down and grabbed the outside material tightly.

"Just hold on, Hilary," Kai silently commanded, "I'll find a way to stop them, but first…"

Kai turned to look at his father, who was still snoring peacefully, with a raised eyebrow. "Well," Kai sighed, "might as well get started on breakfast."

Kai raided his father's bag for supplies and was able to find some dry wood nearby to start a fire. Normally he would use his beyblade, but without it, he needed to look for his father's seemingly non-existent matches. While he was searching around, Kai kept feeling like he was being drawn towards his father's jacket, which was lying next to the sleeping man. He had ignored the feeling the previous night, thinking it was due to the tension between him and his father.

Finally giving up in his doomed search, Kai decided to open the pocket and put his hand inside – against his better judgement. He was a bit surprised when his hand grasped cold metal and, checking to see his father was still asleep (and not quite having any idea why he did that), pulled out a beyblade. The weight felt familiar and Kai turned the bit towards him, only to drop it as if he had been scalded.

Wide-eyed, Kai fell backwards and kicked up dirt to put more distance between him and the beyblade. The sound of the beyblade struck a rock as it fell and Susumu bolted awake. Seeing Kai's expression of horror, Susumu rolled fluidly onto his feet and began frantically scanning the treeline for enemies.

After a few moments he seemed to realise that they were not being ambushed and so turned back to look at his son in silent question. In doing so he caught the gleam of a beyblade and let his stance relax, realising what had caught Kai off-guard.

"Are you hurt?" Susumu asked, calmly picking up the beyblade.

Kai, who was still breathing heavily in shock, looked up at his father with the same expression he had had when seeing_ that _beyblade. He opened his mouth to try to speak, but nothing came out. After a few more failed attempts, he was finally able to say his thoughts, though it was not as coherent or demanding as he had planned in his head.

"When… where did you get that?"

Susumu took a quick glance at the bit of the beyblade and let his hand fall back to his side, the beyblade still clutched between his fingers with the bit hidden by his trouser legs. "I had wondered if you would be able to sense it."

Kai lost his voice again, only looking at his father in confusion and silently demanding an explanation.

"It is said that someone who has shared power with a dark bit beast can also see the dark power in other people and beyblades. Isn't that what you sensed in Brooklyn when you first saw him – why you were weary of him when you first met?"

"Who said I ever feared him?" Kai asked almost as a jerk reflex, deliberately misinterpreting his father's words and using it to forget his fear in favour of anger.

Susumu gave him a look just as suddenly as it had appeared, Kai's anger evaporated, feeling like a five year old all over again. Kai pushed himself shakily from the ground, brushed himself off and looked up at his father defiantly in an attempt to keep some level of dignity.

"You didn't answer my question." Kai countered, attempting to regain control of the situation.

"You are correct."

Susumu paused long enough that Kai wondered if he was going to say anything else. Suddenly his father launched the beyblade and it span in the middle of the wood and kindling that Kai had put together.

"Dark inferno."

Black flames spilled from the beyblade and onto the fire, turning into much friendlier red and yellow flames as they travelled further along the wood. Susumu held his hand above the fire and the beyblade returned easily. Kai watched in stunned shock, not even knowing what to say.

Susumu looked again at the bit at the centre of the beyblade before speaking, "It is unimportant how I got this beyblade, but what is important is that with it you would possibly have enough power to stop the other dark beybladers." He turned his head to look at Kai. "How far are you willing to go to save your friend? Would you risk becoming like them to save her?" He asked, holding out the new Black Dranzer beyblade.

Kai's hand rose slightly, reaching towards the dark beyblade. While it was true he would have more power with that bit beast than with none, would he be able to control Black Dranzer long enough to save Hilary? And even if he did save her, what use would that be if he lost himself? Could he master that beyblade before it took control of him? He attempted to drive the questions mercilessly home, but a thick fog seemed to be entering his mind and slowing his thoughts down.

Suddenly Kai's fingers touched the dark beast's bit. The cool metal snapped him back to the present and it was then that Kai realised how close his hand was to clasping the beyblade. Susumu was staring at him without any trace of emotion, merely waiting for Kai's decision without judgement in his expression.

Finally, Kai dragged his hand away, clenching it into a fist and bringing it to his side. "If I lose myself to Black Dranzer I could become exactly like Ren and the others; the way I was at the World Championships." He admitted, letting his gaze fall to the ground. "Hilary is counting on me; I can't take that chance." He summarized, looking up at his father with conviction.

Susumu's hand closed over the beyblade and he put it away in his trouser pocket. "You know you cannot win with your current strength no matter how determined to win you are, so without Black Dranzer what will you do?"

Kai looked in the direction he could sense the dark bit beasts- now he knew what that nagging feeling was; the direction he knew Hilary would be in. "I'll find my own way."

"Well," said Susumu, resigned, but with a hint of amusement, "I doubt even you can stop them without a beyblade."

Pulling out a blue beyblade from his bag he threw it towards Kai, who caught it automatically with ease. Kai admired the design while his father spoke.

"That is the result of all my years of research." He stated proudly. "Try not to break it too soon." He added with a teasing wink.

Kai clasped the beyblade tightly and gave his father a nod. It wasn't a vocal thanks, but Susumu knew Kai's message for what it was. Susumu shot him a grin in response.

Kai smirked, "So how about breakfast?"

Both father and son sat with a bowl in front of them, politely eating everything in it but a tiny piece. Some lessons were never forgotten. Finishing his bowl first, Susumu let out a satisfied sigh.

"I have to admit, I'm impressed with your cooking skills."

Kai smiled slightly into his bowl, "Ray insisted."

"Ray of the White Tiger bit beast, right? Brave kid; teaching a proud Hiwatari how to cook." He praised, grinning.

The smile remained on Kai's face, becoming a bit more wistful as he finished his own breakfast. "Did you track me with Black Dranzer, then?"

Susumu, originally thrown by the quick change in topic, became a bit more sober. He looked directly at Kai before he answered. "Yes, I have had Black Dranzer under my protection for some time now. Mr Dickenson was worried that a stationary target would be easier to find and since he knew I had control over its bit power, I was the practically the only candidate for the task."

"So, you do have complete control over Black Dranzer." Kai stated, though Susumu could hear the request for more information.

Susumu nodded, "Despite popular belief, the dark bit beasts are not evil. However, they do take much more power to control than most regular bit beasts. Most beybladers do not have the power to control them and thus are sucked in, the dark bit beast needing to feed off of other bit beasts for the power to materialise. This in turn causes the dark bit beast to grow stronger, thus requiring more energy. It is a vicious cycle that usually ends with the bit beast consuming everything in the area. There is a hypothesis that some of the World's vanished civilisations were caused by dark bit beasts being released by unworthy masters."

Kai nodded, gripping his new beyblade tightly. "Are you going to stop me if I go after them?"

Susumu smiled down at his son and shook his head. "It is your decision, Kai, and I have no right to interfere. Might it be easier, though, to wait for them to come to us?"

Kai put the new beyblade into one of his pockets, along with his launcher and ripcord. He wanted to get Hilary away from those beybladers as soon as possible. If they were anything like he was at the World Championships in Russia then they wouldn't care what happened to her. However, she could be used as a bargaining chip to get their hands on the stone and Black Dranzer, so it was likely that they would keep her from harm; he hoped.

Turning to his father, Kai nodded in acceptance. Besides, this way he could get used to his new beyblade. Standing up, Kai walked back towards the stream where he had bathed in the morning, completely forgetting about the wounds on his back.

"I'm going to train." He said walking away. Remembering something else, he glanced back at his father. "I'm sorry I never found the Phoenix's true guardian. I guess it's too late now."

Susumu's face was carefully neutral and Kai didn't even attempt to deduce what his father was thinking. Instead, he walked away to train alone and get stronger so that when Ren's friends came back he knew he'd be able to stop them.

* * *

**So introducing Susumu. I admit I have a slight obsession with him especially because he doesn't appear in the series. The scene between him and Voltaire is a combination of the general feel of the scene from the manga and me pushing it into a direction that would make it fit better with the anime. Let me know what you think.**


	11. Rematch

**Thank you to cOOlzanimeaDDict,tyhiltwilover, KaiHil Lover, treckasasuke and Nicky for reviewing! **

**Just to warn everyone, after the next chapter I might be switching to monthly updates due to time constraints. I'll let you know for sure in the next chapter.**

* * *

_**Rematch**_

Hilary woke up to the sound of birds singing overhead. Her half-lidded eyes were barely able to focus on anything except large blobs of colour. She breathed in dust, which irritated her nose, but succeeded in waking her up a bit more. Scrunching her eyes together, Hilary sat up and rubbed her nose in an attempt to relieve the unpleasant tickling that the dirt had caused.

As her eyes became more focused, Hilary glanced around the clearing, noting that no one else was there. Had Kai left her to go off on his own? Hilary stood up and began to frantically look around for signs of anyone else. It was only a few seconds more before the previous evening's events finally caught up with her.

Suddenly Hilary dropped to a more guarded position, backing up towards a nearby tree to reduce the chance of someone sneaking up on her. Hilary squinted, hoping to see further into the trees and concentrated more on the noises around her, but no one else seemed to be nearby. Hilary was just about to give up and run away when she heard the snap of wood to her left. Swivelling around quickly to face the noise, Hilary tried to calm her increasingly loud breathing.

It was just then that Meng stepped through the undergrowth and into the clearing. He looked up her, seemed to question her level of threat and dismiss it even faster. He gave her a smile that looked more like a smirk.

"Well it looks like you finally woke up." He commented, before walking over to a bag that Hilary had missed and started rummaging through its contents.

He glanced over at Hilary again, who had still not relaxed, and let out a small yawn. "Look girl, I'm faster and stronger than you, so you might as well relax and enjoy your break because there's no way that you're escaping from me."

Hilary stood straighter and glared down at Meng, who was still crouched in front of the bag. He then picked up the bag and gave her another shrug, as if it didn't bother him one way or the other, before motioning her to follow him out of the clearing. When she refused, he brought out his launcher and aimed it straight at her head without any hesitation.

"I really don't care what happens to you, but you will make a good bargaining chip since we didn't get the stone thanks to your struggling. However, if you cause too much trouble, then you'll not be worth keeping alive. Do you understand?"

Hilary took a long breath and waited for another second before following after him, ignoring his patronising comment. After all, they both knew that she wasn't the reason they had left the stone after he and Li Mei had defeated Kai.

"That's a good girl. Now let's go."

Hilary followed Meng through the trees, giving token protests every so often, but stopped when he threatened her again. She did, however, continue to glare at him as they walked towards what Hilary deduced to be a river, by the sound of rushing water approaching them.

Hilary brought one of her arms up to shield her eyes from the sun as they walked out from the shade. Across the water she noticed Ren and Li Mei sitting on some rocks by the water. Li Mei was looking down at Ren as he seemed to be tinkering with his beyblade. They both looked up when they finally noticed the two newcomers and Ren attempted to discretely hide his damaged beyblade. Hilary frowned, wondering who had done that.

Ren stood up quickly with a severe look on his face that Hilary thought was directed towards her at first. However, he jumped along the small stones to reach their side of the river, making it appear as if he had glided across the water, and walked up to Meng instead.

"What is she doing here? I thought I told you two idiots to bring the stone! Li Mei said you had it and left it behind. Don't tell me that Kai was too much for you?"

"I also told you that we thought the girl would be more valuable." Li Mei defended her companion's decision. "You said Kai could turn into a threat. If we have his girlfriend then he won't even attack us."

Hilary let out a disbelieving laugh. "You really don't know him at all. That's just going to make him more determined to beat you. Besides," she added as an afterthought, "I'm not his girlfriend."

"Then why are you blushing?"

Hilary straightened, puzzled. She had been blushing? Feeling the heat rise to her cheeks, Hilary knew she was blushing now and they were going to completely misinterpret it. Stupid dark beybladers! She absently wondered if Kai had been this infuriating when he had been under the control of Black Dranzer. Maybe one day she would work up the courage to ask one of the Bladebreakers.

"Enough!" Silenced Ren, and both of his companions looked at him in confusion, apparently not understanding his foul mood. "Meng, if you think your plan will work then take her to the shrine and make sure you get the stone this time. Absorb all the bit beasts yourself if you have to."

"What if Kai or the Saint Shields turn up?"

Ren shot him a deadly look at the mention of the Saint Shields, his red eyes elongating into slits, "Isn't that why you have the girl with you? Don't fail me again, Meng."

Meng nodded to his teammate and grabbed Hilary, adding, "Let's go."

Hilary wrenched her arm away, giving a foul look for touching her like that, but followed behind him without any other protests.

"And Meng," Hilary and Meng turned to look back at Ren, "fail me this time and don't bother coming back, got it?"

Hilary took one last glance back at Ren and Li Mei, who was standing just behind him, as she followed Meng back through the trees and up towards the shrine. Hilary glanced around the forest for a short time before growing bored and deciding to push her luck again.

"You two didn't tell him the real reason you didn't get the stone." Hilary commented absently, while looking intently at Meng's back.

"Shut up!" Meng growled in response.

"I really thought you or Li Mei would have told him that Black Dr…"

Meng turned around and raised his fist threateningly, "I said shut up!"

Hilary didn't say anything else to aggravate the boy in front of her, but then again she no longer needed to. When he turned back away from her, Hilary allowed a smirk to grow across her face at the sight of his tense shoulders as he walked determinedly ahead of her, refusing to look back, but probably keeping his ears sharp. The smirk dropped as Hilary looked up towards the shrine. Worry settled in her stomach and Hilary hoped that Kai was alright after what had happened the previous night:

* * *

"Kai!"

Hilary attempted to struggle against Meng's grip to get to her friend, who had collapsed on the ground. Li Mei grabbed her arm, yanking it in an awkward direction in order to intimidate her even more.

"Quiet! Stop struggling or I'll send Black Dragoon on him." Li Mei threatened.

Hilary glanced from the other girl to Kai, but she had already made her decision. Li Mei gave her a superior look when Hilary stopped struggling and Li Mei carelessly dropped her grip on Hilary's arm. However, no sooner was it out of Li Mei's grasp, Meng grabbed at it and pulled her along, dragging her further away from Kai.

"Li Mei, go get the stone and we'll absorb those bit beasts into our beyblades."

Li Mei gave him a look, "What about Ren?"

Meng shook Hilary when she attempted to struggle again, but kept most of his focus on Li Mei. "He could have come along if he wanted those bit beasts. We'll just tell him there were some complications and we were forced to absorb them rather than take the stone."

Hilary watched as Li Mei was about to walk towards the shrine, but before she could get far the female beyblader took a step back wearily and raised her launcher towards the trees across from them. In that same split second, Meng had also tensed and pulled Hilary further away from the shrine.

"Come out!" Li Mei shouted with a touch of fear in her voice.

Suddenly a black beyblade with green trim shot out from between the trees and behind it walking in at a much more sedate pace a Japanese man around average height stepped towards them. One of his hands was casually in his trouser pocket, bunching up the dark jacket he was wearing.

"So _you_ are the kids who have been causing trouble."

"Who?" Li Mei started to ask, but her voice seemed caught in her throat.

The small smile on the man's face disappeared as he looked down at Kai's body. He glanced over at Meng and Li Mei, who flinched back at his intense red eyes that almost seemed to glow in the late afternoon light. They continued to back away, pushing Hilary with them. The man's gaze never left them and he took a few steps forward in an intimidating manner, despite his relaxed stance.

"Let her go." The tone of his voice made all three stop and Hilary felt as if her breath had just been taken away. The man's gaze was so intense Hilary felt like she should be as guilty as the other two beybladers to be receiving such a look, even if she knew the man's expression was not actually directed towards her.

"Sorry," Meng replied, obviously attempting to keep his voice from shaking, "but she's coming with us and if you try to stop us then I'll kill her."

The man looked at Meng flatly, obviously not even a little intimidated by the boy, but stayed where he was and brought his hand out of his pocket in order to call the beyblade back to his hand.

"I am afraid you will come to regret that, boy."

Meng shoved Hilary through the trees with Li Mei quickly following. Hilary expected them to look triumphant, but both beybladers looked scared.

"Meng, did you feel his bit beast?"

Meng's grip on Hilary's arm tightened and he pulled her along harder and Hilary glanced at her hand to see it was turning white with the pressure. It was a few more seconds before Meng actually said anything.

"Black Dranzer."

"It was stronger than us. He could have destroyed our beyblades easily." Li Mei said in a panic as they almost broke into a run to get away from the shrine.

Even being dragged along, Hilary glanced between the two and wondered what they meant. Surely that man didn't have Black Dranzer if he was against these two, but then maybe he was also after the bit beasts and thought of them as competition. She could only hope that Kai was not in grave danger, being left behind with that man.

"Hold on, Kai." Hilary thought as they rushed down the other side of the mountain. "I'll get out of this as soon as I can."

* * *

Hilary glanced towards her captor again and wondered if she could get away before they reached the shrine. Unfortunately, Meng seemed pretty determined to keep her by his side.

She must have lost track of time, because the next thing Hilary knew she was entering the clearing at the top of the mountain where the shrine was located. Meng stepped out behind her, glancing around before fixing his gaze on the shrine itself.

"I know you're in there. Come out and stop hiding like a coward."

"Who said I was hiding?" A dark figure asked as he stepped out of the shrine still obscured by shadow, but Hilary instantly recognised Kai's voice.

Kai remained under the shelter of the shrine's roof with his arms crossed over his chest. He looked down at Meng with a smirk on his face.

"No backup this time?"

Meng ground his teeth at the arrogance radiating off Kai as he spoke, but slowly got himself back under control. "Do you not remember who destroyed whom last time? I didn't need Li Mei to beat you last time, and I definitely don't need her this time."

Kai stepped out into the clear midday light and Hilary's eyes were immediately drawn to his hands, which were scratched and bruised from practicing. The confidence she remembered from the first competitive battle he fought on that strange island was back in his expression and posture. There was no desperation this time, only quiet – if obvious – confidence.

"Let's see about that." Kai responded, bringing up his launcher, which contained a new beyblade.

Meng narrowed his eyes, possibly suspecting some sort of trap, but feeling confident enough in his own power to be able to handle it. Hilary looked between the two of them and stepped out of the way of the immediate battleground.

"Three." Meng started with a confident smirk.

"Two." Kai answered with his own knowing smirk.

"One. Let it rip!" Both shouted.

Kai's blue beyblade barely touched the ground before it shot straight towards Meng's red beyblade, but swerved out of the way just before they were about to collide. The red beyblade jerked slightly, having anticipated an impact, but was quick to recover and shot after the blue beyblade as it headed into a more open space between the two combatants.

"Enough of this foolishness" Meng shouted in frustration. "Get him Galmon!"

The monkey bit beast tore out from the beyblade, leading a charge towards Kai's beyblade and jumping up to land a hit on top. Dranzer swerved, bucking Meng's 'blade off, while Kai reeled from the attack, gritting his teeth as he braced himself. Hilary watched the battle in trepidation while the weird blue mist once again surrounded Kai and his new Dranzer beyblade. It barely dodged the next attack and swerved around for a counterattack that the red beyblade only avoided enough to miss serious damage.

"Have you actually got anything new for me, Kai?" Meng taunted.

As soon as he said that, Hilary started to notice what looked like fireflies moving in the mist around Kai and his beyblade. The more time passed, the faster the new Dranzer seemed to be spinning and the fatter the blobs of light became. It wasn't long before Meng also noticed the light and began to react.

"I don't know what you're trying to pull, but you can't beat me without a bit beast!" Meng shouted, sounding much less sure of himself than he did at the start of the match.

Kai remained completely intent on his beyblade to the point when Hilary wondered whether he was even aware that he and Dranzer were glowing! The fiery light surrounding him looked like many coloured flames coating his skin and Hilary couldn't help the smile that came to her face seeing him this happy. There wasn't an obvious smile on his face, but the way his eyes burned was something she had not seen in too long. He looked like he had in his battle with Brooklyn, except there was no anger needed to fuel the flames this time.

"Is that all you've got?" Kai asked, echoing Meng's earlier taunting, as Dranzer slammed his opponent's beyblade back.

"No one can defeat me, especially not one who isn't even worthy of a bit beast!" Meng exclaimed, "Black Draceil, take him down!"

Kai's fists tightened and his expression was lost for a second before fiery-red eyes looked directly at Meng and Dranzer appeared to burst into flames. Meng jumped back in shock and even Hilary found herself taking a step away from the battle in surprise.

"Burn him, Dranzer!" Kai shouted.

Meng's eyes widened as Black Draceil and Galmon were both overwhelmed by the flames in seconds and his beyblade sent flying. Meng was sent flying backwards and landed on the ground, only able to stare blankly as his beyblade began to wobble without its bit beasts powering its movement. Hilary couldn't help the grin that spread across her face at the realisation that Kai was going to destroy Meng.

"I'm not done yet!" Meng shouted in rage and desperation, ordering his bit beasts to attack and charging towards Kai.

Kai stayed in place at first, dodging only when the hit was about to land and swung his leg around to catch Meng off guard. Meng was barely able to twist around and block with one arm, sending him skidding back a few metres. The fire that still wrapped around Kai's beyblade seemed to be sucking the energy from Meng's bit beasts every time they came close. Meng let out a shout of frustration, once again sending them on a collision course.

Light exploded from the beyblades and Hilary had to cover her eyes for a few seconds. When she was finally able to see again, Hilary noticed Kai's beyblade continued to spin in place, wobbling a little as Meng's beyblade came to a stop. A cry of anguish filled the air, though whether it came from Meng or his beyblade, Hilary could never be sure. Just then, a bright yellow light shot from Meng's beyblade and headed away from the battle. Hilary could only stare dumbly after it until she heard Kai's knees hit the ground.

Kai's arms were the only thing keeping him from collapsing to the ground completely. His beyblade had stopped spinning during that time and lay between him and Meng, whose eyes were wide as if someone had just woke him up from a terrible nightmare.

"Kai!" Hilary shouted as she ran over to see if he was alright.

Crouching beside him, Hilary offered her arm, but Kai stood up unaided after a few minutes and walked towards Meng, picking up his beyblade and Meng's on the way over. Hilary stayed behind to watch the exchange, wondering what Meng would do to them.

"How're you feeling?"

At first it seemed as if Meng would continue to stare blankly into space, but after a few moments he finally focused on Kai, tilting his head in order to look the other beyblader in the eye. Even looking straight at Kai, Meng seemed to be having difficulty processing what had just happened.

"How?"

Hilary looked between Kai and Meng, puzzled by Meng's question, but Kai seemed to understand what was happening. Instead of saying anything, Kai offered his hand to Meng, who accepted it. Kai pulled him up to a standing position, only letting go when he was sure Meng was not going to fall back down straight away.

Kai turned from the two and began walking away from the shrine. "We've set up camp nearby, so if you're interested you are welcome to get something to eat."

Meng nodded dumbly and walked after Kai, while Hilary followed on behind the two boys. She glanced between the two wondering what on Earth was happening. Hadn't Meng tried to take everyone's bit beasts only a few minutes before? Why was Kai suddenly being so accommodating? Hilary puffed up her cheeks in annoyance at Kai for once again leaving her out of the loop!

They stepped into another clearing and Hilary gasped at the man that was sitting next to a cooking fire. He was the same one that had appeared at the shrine! He gave Meng an understanding smile and motioned for him to sit. Then he took one look at Hilary before turning to Kai to give him a significant look that she didn't understand, but Kai appeared to. He picked up a bag and held it out to the stoic teen, which Kai accepted. She looked at Kai, who glanced at her and nodded once before turning to her fully, supporting the bag over his left shoulder.

"Let's take the stone back to the shrine."

Hilary nodded dumbly, not quite knowing what was happening or why. She stayed silent a few paces behind Kai as they walked back towards the shrine, not quite knowing what to expect.

"I'm sorry I didn't come after you."

Hilary smiled towards Kai at his comment, even though he didn't bother to look at her. She sped up her pace so that she was walking next to him, rather than behind him.

"I'm glad you didn't." She replied, "Though I have to admit I didn't expect you to be able to beat Meng." She thought back to the battle. "What was that light around you?"

Kai stopped and looked at her, apparently surprised by her question. He seemed to shrug it off, though, a second later.

"Maybe... I thought I felt her presence, but," he took out his beyblade and looked at the empty bit in the middle and Hilary realised he was talking about Dranzer, "I don't see how that's possible."

"Maybe she isn't as gone as everyone seems to think."

"But why would she want to come back to someone like me?"

Hilary stopped, forcing him to turn around and face her. He looked at her as if she'd grown a second head, which only made her even angrier at him; as if she was the one being weird. She placed her hands on her hips and glared at him. "Are you kidding me? Firstly, you're one of the most powerful beybladers in the world;" she started counting on her fingers, "secondly, you refuse to give up even when the odds are stacked against you and then you're always there when we really need you. Get me on a good day where I have time to think about it and I'd probably think of more! Why would she _not_ want to be your partner?

"Now stop sounding so insecure," Hilary continued to reprimand, as she marched straight past him, "it's weird."

She couldn't hear anything for a few steps and she wondered if he was just going to stand there, but then Hilary caught Kai sigh and walk in large strides to catch up so that they were next to each other again.

"Thank you, Hilary."

"Ok, seriously, who are you and what have you done with Kai?" She asked, glancing at him with a cheeky grin on her face.

Kai let out a snort of amusement and a smile twitched on one side of his face. He didn't answer, but Hilary wasn't expecting it and they both happily walked in silence the rest of the way.

* * *

Light shone through the trees, creating a mottled effect on anything it reached. Hilary sat on the wooden decking of the shrine, her legs dangling off the edge. Kai stepped out of the entrance, having hidden the stone somewhere inside the shrine, the now empty bag over his shoulder. She looked back at him and smiled, which he returned, if a bit more subdued, before walking over and sitting down next to her.

They both looked ahead towards the setting sun, Hilary leaning back on her hands and Kai sitting forward with his hands clasped together loosely in his lap. Hilary felt as if she had a million and one questions to ask, but didn't know where to start or how Kai would react.

"Just ask what you want." Kai unknowingly replied to her thoughts. "I don't promise to answer, though."

Hilary turned her head towards him briefly and smiled, "I can accept that."

It was a few more minutes before she decided on a question to ask him. "So what happened to Meng? He seemed a bit confused."

Hearing Kai sigh, she glanced at him only to notice he had hunched over himself even more than before, as if there was a great weight on his shoulders. Thinking she had asked the wrong question, Hilary was about to retract it when Kai began to speak.

"When someone uses a Black Bit Beast and loses control, the bit beast uses the person's own feelings against him. So Meng, who possibly wants to prove himself to the rest of the village, became power-hungry to feed a desire to be noticed by his peers. He probably believed his actions were reasonable at the time, but that was due to Black Draceil's influence."

Hilary licked her lips, almost dreading the answer that was going to come. "Is that what happened to you when you used Black Dranzer?"

Kai let out a bitter laugh, hands clasped together tightly. "The first time I used it I almost died. Dranzer saved me, but I lost my memories of the Abbey. I should have learned my lesson. It was like a drug I hadn't even realised I was addicted to until I was staring at that bit again.

"Even now a part of me is still drawn to its power. If the Bladebreakers had given up on me like everyone else…"

Kai left the sentence to trail off, but Hilary could fill in the rest without Kai. Before she knew what she was doing, Hilary had placed one of her hands on top of Kai's white knuckles. Almost immediately, she felt the pressure under her hand loosen and they both continued to stare at their hands in silence.

Hilary rested her head on his shoulder lightly. "We should probably go back. Do you think the stone will be safe?"

She felt Kai shift as he nodded, "We have something more important, now. Black Dranzer and Black Draceil will be calling out to the other two Black Bit Beasts. They'll come for us before they go after these lesser bit beasts."

Hilary nodded in acceptance and slowly pulled away from Kai as he stood up. He waited until she was beside him, glancing down to check she was ready to go. The two used the rest of the daylight to walk back to their campsite.

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**Please Review.**


	12. Legend of the Sacred Beasts

**I am so very sorry this is late! It has been a long and very busy week and although I had finished the chapter on time, I have only just got Internet access to post it. To add to the bad news I also won't be updating for a****month due to how behind I am with the next chapter (partially due to other commitments) , however if I get ahead again I will change back to a faster update speed.**** Thank you so very much to cardcaptornekojin, ****tyhiltwilover, cOOlzanimeaDDict, 09sasha, and Ms. Controversy for reviewing.** **I will reply to you soon, but I wanted to get this chapter up as soon as possible.**

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_**Legend of the Sacred Beasts**_

The wood covered by fire cracked and popped, sending sparks up towards anyone not paying attention. Fortunately, all four travellers were sitting a small distance away eating a small well-made dinner together. Susumu finished his bowl with a large satisfied smile on his face.

"I had forgotten what properly cooked food tasted like. My compliments to the chef."

Hilary blushed at the praise, taking a few more quick bites of her meal to compose herself. "I'm just happy to be useful. It's a bit embarrassing being used as bait." She said in mock-exasperation.

Susumu let out a loud and friendly laugh and Meng finally started to smile a little at the infectious atmosphere. Kai only continued to eat his meal with apparent disinterest, but there was a softness in his eyes that gave away his true feelings.

"I'm sorry for what I did." Meng apologised for what felt like the hundredth time that day. "If there's anything I can do…"

"Maybe if you stopped apologising…" Kai suggested without a trace of humour, placing his bowl down harder than necessary.

"Kai!" Hilary reprimanded, before turning back to Meng, expression back to being friendly before anyone could blink. "It's fine. I'm just glad you're alright."

Meng nodded, seemingly unconvinced and Hilary turned enough to shoot Kai another dirty look. However, the stoic teen just picked up his bowl again and focussed completely on his meal, making Hilary even more annoyed.

"What will happen to me now do you think?" Meng asked, as he somehow hunched even further into himself.

Meng was very different from how he had acted when possessed by Black Draceil. Where he had been cocky and defiant with the dark bit beast, Meng's true personality seemed to be almost the opposite. He naturally sat with his shoulders slightly hunched over as if he was afraid of being taller than everyone else. He sat nervously stirring a couple of uneaten pieces around his bowl, though Hilary wondered if he was just doing that because he felt awkward being around them.

"If we return Black Draceil and you apologise to everyone I'm sure they'll understand." Hilary reassured, trying to sound sure of herself.

Meng looked at her from over his glasses, which had fallen a bit down his face. He pushed them higher up his nose to be able to look at her properly before giving her a smile. Hilary gave him a kind smile in return.

Kai, who had finished his bowl, stood up suddenly. Hilary looked up at him, wondering if he was going to wander off when he stuck out his free hand in front of her bowl. Wordlessly Hilary handed him the bowl and Kai took the other two before grabbing a cloth and soap and heading away towards the water.

Hilary's confusion must have been evident on her face because as soon as Kai had disappeared through the trees, Susumu spoke up with a wistful smile on his face, his eyes on the fire between them all.

"Every time I think he is no longer the boy I knew, he goes and surprises me again."

Hilary looked at him, puzzled, but eager to potentially learn more about her mysterious friend. "So he was very different when he was younger?"

Susumu, seeming to realise he had said the last sentence aloud, gave her a surprised look. He turned his head towards the trees and gave a slow nod. "Kai never had a large amount of friends, but the few he had he befriended quickly and was very loyal too. Mostly he and I would practice beyblading together or I would teach him more about customising and fixing beyblades."

Susumu sighed, "I know it is silly of me, but part of me always expected to come back and see him as an older version of the same child I left; a child who was enthusiastic and curious about everything, who respected the rules of beyblade. When I saw him using Black Dranzer, though…" Susumu trailed off, but Hilary had a feeling she knew what he was going to say.

"I know Kai can come across as antisocial and arrogant," Hilary acknowledged, "and the first one is true, but he _does_ care about other people and making sure there's a level playing field."

She had added the last part, remembering the final match between Kai and Tyson at the World Championships. Kai had put himself at a disadvantage by beyblading against Brian and Spenser just before the match, yet he had wanted a fair match against Tyson. Then there was that time before the G-Revolution's match with Barthez Battalion:

* * *

Hilary was coming back from the restrooms when she heard people talking up ahead. Recognising Kai's and someone else's voices so close to the G-Revolutions team room she became suspicious. She didn't think that Kai was the type to spy on another team, especially when he had been on the same team as Tyson for a while, but she had to remind herself that Kai was now a rival and he could be willing to do anything to win. After all, Kai, Ray and Max had been willing to switch sides just to fight Tyson, so who knew how far they would really go to claim the World Championship title. Even though she hoped she was wrong Hilary knew she would have to assume the worst.

Hilary poked her head around the corner to take a glimpse at the person whom Kai was talking to and almost let out a gasp of surprise when she recognised Claude from Barthez Battalion standing across from her former teammate.

"Hilary…"

Hilary turned and shushed the uncertain voice of Kenny, who had approached her from behind, obviously on his way back to the G-Revolution's waiting room. She gestured around the corner and Kenny took a quick peak, backtracking almost as quickly when he realised the people outside their team's room. He gave her a gesture to come closer before whispering in her ear frantically.

"I left Tyson's, Daichi's and my beyblades alone in there!"

Hilary realised exactly what he was implying and was about to step out and take action when she heard Kai speak up loud enough for them to overhear.

"I trust that nothing of this meeting will be made public, or you might find yourself in a difficult situation, Claude."

"I promise," Claude stuttered, obviously intimidated by the other teen, "but Barthez is bound to find out and you know what he'll do to me. What do I tell him?"

If anything Kai's voice became even frostier. "Tell him you could only find Kenny's beyblade and the other two were nowhere to be found."

There was silence before the sounds of footsteps walking in the opposite direction could be heard. Kenny and Hilary moved around the corner only to stop when they realised that Kai was still standing there, watching Claude turn the corner. He turned around and looked straight at them as if he had known they had been there from the beginning (which could well have been true, knowing Kai).

"Considering you're up against Barthez's team I thought you would be more careful with your beyblades before your match." He said in a surprisingly indifferent voice flicking his eyes toward the door with the G-Revolutions' name on it. "I'm assuming you aren't fighting." Kai stated, looking directly at Kenny. "However, I think Claude would appreciate it if you didn't bring your beyblade to the match."

Kai turned around in a flourish, scarf billowing behind him as he walked away, but stopped when Hilary spoke up. "Whose side are you on, Kai?"

He stopped glanced back at her, but Hilary couldn't decipher the look on his face. "I'd think that would be obvious." He paused, starting to walk away. "However, I joined the Blitzkrieg Boys to fight Tyson. It would be a bit pointless to compete if he lost due to a forfeit."

* * *

"We later figured out with the help of Matilda and Miguel," Hilary continued, "that Claude had been ordered by Barthez to tamper with our beyblades to make sure the team would win. Kai had caught Claude just as he had opened the door to our room and confronted him."

"I know it's no excuse," Meng began, "but the Black Bit Beasts seem to remove some self-made barriers that would normally stop someone from stealing bit beasts and hurting the people they care about."

"Like what?" Hilary asked, genuinely curious about his answer.

"I know I don't have a bit beast, but I've never been that interested in beyblading compared to archaeology. Yet as soon as Black Draceil's bit was in my hand the main thing that mattered was devouring opponents and taking their bit beasts."

Hilary frowned, "Devouring."

Meng looked startled out of a daze and quickly backtracked. "Sorry 'devour' is the wrong word. I'm not sure why I used that."

"Maybe," Supplied Susumu, "but it makes sense if it felt as if you were feeding Black Draceil. Think; most animals would never think of sparing their prey. After all, it is survival of the strongest predator."

"Great, so I just have to explain to the White Tigers I thought their bit beasts were food. I'm _sure_ they'll forgive me now." Meng sighed, folding his arms over his knees and resting his nose on top.

Hilary rolled her eyes and shifted her gaze towards Susumu. "You said that you saw Kai when he had Black Dranzer. What was he like?"

"Talkative."

The three who were sitting around the fire turned in surprise to see Kai walking back with clean bowls and utensils. He gave each of them a hard look before walking over to his father's bag and placing the things back inside. An awkward silence followed, no one wanting to say anything disrespectful. Shrugging at their behaviour, Kai walked over to his sleeping bag and was about to take off his shoes when Susumu stopped him.

"Actually there is something I would like to talk to you all about if you would not mind staying up a little longer, Kai. That is, if you would like more information about the Four Sacred Beasts."

Hilary and Meng found themselves leaning towards him in interest, and even Kai raised a questioning brow and stopped what he was doing. Kai walked back to the group and sat down, eyes intently locked on his father.

"I have no idea how much you were told by the Saint Shields about the bit beasts, but the Four Sacred Beasts, or the Holy Four, are the strongest bit beasts on the planet. However no one quite realised that the four bit beasts the Bladebreakers are _not_ the Sacred Beasts that are referred to in legend."

Hilary frowned, mulling over the information. "So are you saying they're fakes?"

Susumu laughed, but it was friendly rather than condescending. "Not quite. However, they are much weaker than the true legendary Sacred Beasts.

"Long ago the Sacred Beasts belonged to four powerful warriors, chosen to control the incredible power intrusted with them. However, there were those jealous of these warriors and dark forces conspired to destroy them. Each of the warriors either succumbed to battle or old age and those that gained the power after were corrupt and the beasts could not respect them.

"Many tried to control the Sacred Beasts, but no one was strong enough or worthy enough to do so. However, one leader who wished for their power found a way to control them. By splitting each Sacred Beast into two forms – yin and yang, darkness and light – the leader took the stronger, darker yin spirits while he sealed the yang beasts. He conquered many nations, burning villages and killing anyone who stood in his way. His own people, who remembered a good and just leader, soon realised that the Sacred Beasts had corrupted him and were fuelling his quest for power. Despite that, no one could stand against him."

"So what happened?" Hilary asked, engrossed in the story.

"Four heroes stepped forward and combined themselves with the yang forms of the beasts. Then the four warriors combined their powers and together were able to overcome the stronger bit beasts with the bond they shared as friends."

Kai narrowed his eyes, "It couldn't have just been that. Even combined you said the yang forms were weaker."

Susumu nodded, acknowledging the point. "It is true. However, the four dark bit beasts had no bond with their master, only using him as a vessel, while the yang bit beasts worked together with their partners becoming stronger because of it.

"Eventually they defeated the Black Bit Beasts and sealed them in the site that you were at with Tyson's family. The four heroes, fearful that the Four Sacred Beasts would be used to gain power, also hid away the yang spirits in objects of great value and buried them at the site.

"It is not known how, but eventually they found their way into the bits that fit into the beyblade you kids use. Since the day they were sealed the Sacred Beasts have been trying to find their true masters – drawn to them by some unknown link – in an attempt to become whole again."

He paused for some time to let them take in the information he had given them, but just as Kai seemed like he was going to ask something Susumu began to speak again.

"We have no idea how the Dragoon, Dranzer, Draceil and Driger made their way to you, but the people who took those bit beasts from the site could also be the same ones who found Black Dranzer.

"It was recently that records of a dark bit beast first began being seen in reports by Boris Balcov. He claimed that Rasputin created an unbelievably strong beyblade that seemed to grow stronger or weaker depending on the strength of the one who wielded it. At the time of those first reports we were only just beginning to understand bit beasts and their potential, but it seemed that this 'ultimate beyblade' also contained a bit beast.

"My father seized on this beyblade when he started funding Balcov Abbey and ordered Boris to use the same techniques on it that had been used on other bit beasts in order to augment Black Dranzer's power, thus Boris reclassified it as a Cyber Bit Beast – one of the most successful of its kind. Of course, the Demolition Boys' bit beats also went through a similar process. We believe the modifications caused the bit beasts to become wilder and more prone to controlling the beyblader's emotions, rather than the other way around."

The three teens sat together in silence for a while. Only the chirping of bugs and the occasional crackle from the fire disturbed the silence.

Surprisingly Kai was the first to break the silence. "So what happens if the bit that a sacred spirit is sealed in is destroyed?"

Hilary shot Kai a worried look that he seemed to ignore. Susumu let out a sigh, not quite looking at his son. "To be honest I have never heard of something like that happening before. I would assume it meant that the bit beast would be destroyed with it, but maybe not. It seems strange to think that these spirits would be mortal."

Hilary watched as Kai looked at his father in surprise, but made no other comment. Instead, Susumu stood up and stretched.

"Well, it has been a long day. I suggest all of you get some rest and we can talk more tomorrow."

The three nodded and Hilary stood to follow the two boys when Susumu put a hand on her shoulder, whispering in her ear. "Do you mind if I talk to you privately?"

Hilary frowned, puzzled at the request, but nodded regardless.

They walked away from camp for a bit until Susumu deemed that they would be out of earshot from the others. Finally, he stopped and turned to face her with a serious expression.

"I wanted to ask you a question about Kai's battle with Meng. You were there, were you not?"

Hilary nodded, "What is it you wanted to know?"

Susumu glanced back towards camp – towards Kai. "I once told Kai to protect Dranzer until he could find her true master. When Mr Dickenson held the regional tournament that formed the Bladebreakers we expected Dranzer's master to show, however the four strongest were by far the best at the tournament.

"What I never said to Kai was that there was a chance _he_ was supposed to partner with Dranzer. I began to suspect that Dranzer wanted to be partnered with Kai since no other worthy competitors showed. This seemed to be reinforced when he was drawn straight to Black Dranzer, but I could not be certain because legend says the Black Bit Beasts do not let their masters go until they are dead or defeated in battle.

"What I want to know," Susumu asked, finally getting to the point he wanted to make, "is if you saw any evidence of Dranzer's return? I felt a great power coming from the battle that was not Black Draceil."

Hilary shook her head. "I'm not sure." She admitted. "I thought I saw something, but it was like something at the corner of your eye that disappeared when I focused on it. But his beyblade was definitely surrounded in fire, which I've never seen without Dranzer's influence."

Susumu accepted the information with a hum of interest. "Thank you."

Hilary smiled. "Do you think Dranzer has come back?"

"I'm not sure." Susumu answered absently looking back towards camp. "Do you mind keeping this conversation between us? I would rather not get Kai's hopes up unnecessarily."

Hilary nodded in agreement and the two walked back to camp as if nothing had happened.

* * *

"So what do we do now?" Hilary asked, looking towards the adult in the group.

Breakfast had lived up to its name as they quickly packed up the camp and ate enough to keep them going for the dreary morning. A thick mist had settled into the mountains, making it impossible to see over the valleys below. Kai was currently packing up his own bag with a few more supplies, while Meng was looking over Susumu's shoulder at a map of the area.

Susumu glanced back at Meng when he spoke, "If you would be willing to help me I would like to do some research to discover any weaknesses that the Black Bit Beasts have."

Meng smiled and nodded in agreement, glad to be included in the plans.

Susumu took out two things that Hilary could see were Black Draceil's bit and Black Dranzer. He handed them over to Kai, who hastily put them in one of his pockets. "I expect the other two will come after you if you have those bit beasts. When they realise you have Black Draceil, they should figure out quite quickly what has happened."

"I'll try to find the Saint Shields and get their support."

"They won't be much help." Meng cut in.

Seeing all the attention was on him, Meng hunched into himself again, eyes shifting around in embarrassment. He licked his lips before explaining, turning to address Kai. "While Li Mei and I were at the shrine Ren went after the four Saint Shields and beat them all at once, though his 'blade was badly damaged. Now he has their bit beasts and is probably even stronger than the first time you faced him."

Hilary frowned, remembering Ren's beaten up beyblade and his anger. She had assumed he had been on the losing end of a fight. "Do you think they're ok?"

Meng shrugged helplessly, obviously wishing he could be more helpful. "Ren battled them around here." He supplied, pointing to an area on the map.

Kai, who had finished packing, slung his bag over his shoulder and gave a nod towards the three of them. "Even if they no longer have their bit beasts, the Saint Shields did battle Black Driger and might know of a weakness."

Hilary stood up and watched him start to walk in the direction the Saint Shields had been seen last with a look of indignation. When he continued to walk away without looking back, she stood up with disbelief clear on her face and her hands on her hips. "And just _where_ do you think _you're_ going?"

Kai paused and glanced back at her with a blank look – as if he had no idea what he was doing wrong. Out of the corner of her eye, she caught Susumu give his son a sympathetic look and Meng cringe and step back, but she ignored both of them focusing only on the stubborn teen in front of her. It was then that a contest of wills began with Kai turning around and looking down at her in an intimidating manner and Hilary completely ignoring it and giving him her own glare in return.

"I am _going_ to find the Saint Shields." Kai replied through gritted teeth.

"Well, you are _not_ going alone." Hilary replied in an equally sharp tone.

"Hilary…"

"Don't you dare, Hiwatari." Hilary interrupted before turning and storming towards her bag. "I don't care what you think. I'm coming with you."

"Hilary, just stay with Meng and my father." Kai reasoned. "I'm sure they could use your help. It would be more useful for you to stay with them than getting in my way."

Hilary felt her stomach drop and, still grasping one of the straps to her bag, turned to face Kai with a look of disbelief. "Do you really mean that?" She asked in a soft voice, attempting not to cry.

Hilary had been expecting to see Kai looking down at her for getting so upset, but instead he looked just as surprised at his words as everyone else. When she attempted to make eye contact with him, Kai quickly averted his eyes, but she just barely caught the fear in them. Puzzled, she glanced down at Kai's hand which had retracted from one of his pockets when he had looked away – the same pocket he had placed Black Dranzer in earlier. Glancing at Susumu, she realised that he had also noticed and was giving Kai a carefully neutral expression.

"I'll be fine." He reassured, though he didn't sound as if he believed himself.

Kai licked his lips and turned away from all of them, pulling his bag further up his shoulder and walking away without any explanation. Hilary gripped her bag and hoisted it up onto her shoulder, running to catch up with his unbelievably fast pace.

Hilary was able to reach Kai just in time to watch him punch the bark of a tree in frustration, letting out a shout. Expression softening, Hilary walked over and stopped just short of touching his shoulder with her outstretched hand. Kai glanced at her and Hilary could clearly see the exhaustion of everything that had happened catching up to him.

Kai turned to face Hilary as she stepped a bit closer to him, so that she had to look up to keep eye contact. He dug into one of his deep pockets and pulled out the Black Dranzer beyblade, gripping it so hard Hilary was almost surprised it didn't draw blood. Not quite knowing what she was doing, but deciding not to question it either, Hilary carefully placed one hand over the beyblade and one below Kai's hand.

A tentative smile crept onto her face as she looked at his face. "You're not alone, Kai. Let me take Black Dranzer, so you don't have to."

Under her hands Hilary could feel Kai's grip on the beyblade tightening. "It's fine. I am _fine_, Hilary."

"So you really meant what you said?" Hilary asked in a calm voice, stepping back a pace, but not taking her hands from his.

Kai looked away from her and tried to pull back, but Hilary kept his hand between hers. With his strength Kai could have easily pulled away, but he didn't. Instead, his attention was pulled back to their hands, which he gave a stricken look. A few more minutes of tense silence gave way when Hilary felt Kai's grip on the beyblade loosen, allowing her to grip it in her own hand and take it away from him. She took a look at the beyblade, but could personally feel nothing different between it and any other beyblade she had held. Glad she had been able to get it away from him, Hilary placed it inside her bag and pulled the straps over her shoulders, looking over at him with a dazzling smile.

"Shall we?" She grinned, continuing towards the last known location of the Saint Shields.

"Hilary."

Hilary paused and turned her head to look at Kai, who was pointedly not looking at her, leaning against the tree he had punched just a few moments earlier. Realising he had her attention, Kai fidgeted with the strap of his bag awkwardly for a moment before shaking his head sharply and hoisting it over his shoulder. He walked past her without saying anything else and Hilary could only stare after him as he got further away. Hilary rolled her eyes at his tough-guy act, understanding the words he had meant, but left unsaid.

"You're welcome." She whispered before hurrying to his side and falling into pace with him.

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**Updated 18/09/11** **Please review.**


	13. Rise From the Ashes

**So... when I said a month I really meant a month and a half *w****inces*. Work piled up a lot more than I thought it was going to and I'm currently working on a 25000+ word story (not Beyblade, unfortunately) that has just had its deadline extended to the end of November. Despite that, originally this chapter _was_ going to be up on time; it was finished with a decent word count and followed the plot I had originally laid out... then I did my usual once-over edit to make sure there were no glaring inconsistencies. What I read was actually awful to the ****point that I couldn't submit you to that kind of torture even if it meant keeping you waiting another couple of weeks. The story has also taken a slightly different turn, but don't worry I still know what's going to happen, it's just a case of putting it all into words. **

**A big thanks to 09sasha, cOOlzanimeaDDict and kaihil lover for reviewing. This chapter would have taken a lot longer to get up if it wasn't for your continued interest.**

* * *

_**Rise from the Ashes**_

Li Mei stood on one of the higher branches of a tall tree that overlooked most of the valley below and normally would have given her a good view of the top of the mountain where she knew the shrine was, but the thick early morning mist obscured it all. The air was surprisingly still, with a strange tension creeping around as if the world was waiting for something big to happen.

Ren was off somewhere probably admiring his newly improved beyblade. His battle with the Saint Shields had almost destroyed it completely, but he had rebuilt it and now it was stronger than ever. Li Mei's left hand squeezed into a tight fist. She only had her bit beast and that pathetic girl's from the White Tiger team. She probably should have gone with Meng if only to guarantee that she would get some of those bit beasts. There was no way she would settle for being the weakest link of the three of them!

However, her fears of being the weakest were overshadowed slightly by her puzzlement as to why Meng was taking so long to get back. There was no one she could think of that would pose a challenge to him. Maybe he had decided to go behind Ren's back and was planning to take Lee and Mystel's bit beasts as well? Li Mei gritted her teeth at the thought of him getting that much power, showing pointed canines as the corners of her mouth due to her agitation. How was she supposed to prove how strong she was to everyone who had ever doubted her?

"So he still hasn't returned?" A voice below her drawled.

Li Mei looked down to see Ren leaning against the base of the tree and looking up at her with a bored expression. She didn't bother to contain her annoyance, giving him a flat look before turning back and peering out over the forest in an attempt to see through the thick grey mist blanketing the trees and obscuring the mountains.

There was a tense silence for a moment and then, with almost effortless grace, Li Mei dropped down to stand in front of the self-proclaimed leader of their little group. She flicked her hair away from her eyes, more out of a nervous habit than for any real purpose. Ren was obviously also growing impatient at Meng's long absence.

"Let's go."

Ren didn't even bother to check Li Mei was following him as he turned away. The two walked silently into the mist towards the dark power of Black Draceil calling for them.

* * *

Kai and Hilary walked further into the forest towards where Kai knew the other two dark bit beasts were. He was much tenser than normal due to being so close to Black Dranzer. Taking it away from Hilary wouldn't even pose a… Kai shut away those thoughts as quickly as he was aware of them.

Kai stole a glance back towards Hilary, turning his head forward again before she even noticed him staring. It didn't make sense; he was one of the strongest beybladers in the World and he had to stop himself being sucked in even when it wasn't in his possession, yet Hilary wasn't even slightly affected by the dark bit beasts' power! His frustration at the situation was not helped by the feeling that they were being watched.

Eventually it seemed that even Hilary had noticed something was wrong and she caught his attention by calling his name softly with uncertainty. Kai turned to face her as she continued to look nervously around her. However, it seemed that that had been what their stalkers had been waiting for and Kai barely had enough time to push Hilary out of the way and launch his beyblade in order to meet four other beyblades shooting towards them.

"It seems you don't remember what 'stay out of our way' means, Kai."

Kai grit his teeth and looked up to see Ozuma standing on one of the tree branches above them, his hood covering most of his face. In other places around the clearing, the rest of the Saint Shields stepped out, removing their hoods as they did so.

"Try and stop me." Defied Kai and he readied himself for a fight as Hilary took a step further back behind him.

All four caught their beyblades and Dunga, Marium and Joseph launched them again almost instantly. Kai could once again feel the energy from himself that he was able to call on even faster than the last time. Dark blue mist surrounded him, but this was not going to intimidate the Saint Shields.

Predictably, Dunga was the first to lose patience. With a roar, he and Vortex Ape charged towards Kai. Kai dodged late, allowing Dunga to graze him as he pulled away and sending Kai skidding backwards.

"Kai!"

Hilary's warning gave Kai barely enough time to see Marium rush at him from another angle. Shark Crash slammed into Dranzer and once again Kai found himself being thrown backwards. Kai's eyes flicked to the side just in time to see Joseph approaching quickly from his blind side.

"You actually think you stand a chance against us without your bit beast?" The shortest beyblader taunted just as his beyblade flew straight towards Kai's own defenceless beyblade.

Kai's eyes narrowed at Joseph as he ignored Hilary's shouts of warning. He was sick and tired of people thinking he was too weak. He was sick of _being_ weak!

Joseph wore a grin of triumph as he closed in on Kai, but the expression morphed into confusion when Kai and Dranzer vanished. The three Saint Shields looked around desperately for their opponent, but he was nowhere to be seen.

"I could ask you the same question." Was the emotionless reply that became Dunga's only warning before he was thrown into a nearby tree, his beyblade wobbling dangerously as it came up beside him.

Kai calmly stood from his crouch and glanced back to see Marium and Joseph sending their beyblades straight at him. A familiar almost-voice seemed to whisper in his ear telling him exactly where everyone was and what their beyblades' weaknesses were. Just like that Kai was five steps ahead of his opponents, dodging each attack and attacking just when he saw a glaring weakness he could capitalise on.

At some point Ozuma had also launched his beyblade, but it made little difference to Kai. The dark mist had morphed into a blazing fire, reflecting Kai's passion and confidence. Dunga shook himself and all four Saint Shields ordered their beyblades to attack, but Kai used the momentum of Dunga's beyblade to twist away and turn all the absorbed energy into his own stronger attack, smashing the attack ring and sending it slamming into a tree.

A smile made its way onto Kai's face as he took another attack and sent it straight back at Joseph, whose beyblade stopped spinning. This is how he had felt when fighting Tyson at the World Championships with his bit beast flying beside him. Dranzer may have been gone, but it would take more than these four to stop him.

Soon, his beyblade was enveloped in fire and it shot straight towards Ozuma. Marium tried to intercept him, but if anything the beyblade built up even more power; the flames turning from red to blue.

"Dranzer, final attack!"

Only Kai continued to stare into the bright flames as they consumed the remaining two beyblades, sending them both crashing to a halt beside their masters. The heat Kai felt from the battle died down as well as the fire-like energy that had been surrounding him. The flames around Dranzer extinguished and Kai silently called his beyblade back to him, catching it easily.

The Saint Shields stood in front of him with varying expressions of shock depending on their natures. Ozuma looked as if he had just swallowed something foul, but as he walked towards Kai his face became more neutral. He looked as if he was about to say something when slow clapping came from behind him.

Kai, Hilary and the four Saint Shields all turned towards the noise to see Ren standing on the same branch Ozuma had been perched on only a few minutes earlier. Ren finished his somewhat sarcastic congratulations and continued to stare down at the people before him. He looked down on the scene in front of him with a maniacal look in his eyes.

"What do you think, Li Mei?" He called to the other side of the clearing. "Not bad for a group of weaklings." He taunted.

Kai glanced behind him and the others (minus Dunga, who shouted at Ren for calling him weak) turned back around to see Li Mei step out of the shadows onto another branch and lean against the main trunk of the tree, looking down at Kai with distain. Her eyes suddenly flicked to Hilary, who was standing a bit away from the others due to the battle. As soon as they widened, Kai knew she had figured out Black Dranzer's whereabouts.

Kai turned towards Hilary, with a shout. "Hilary, get down!"

Hilary barely had enough time to crouch with her hands over her head when a beyblade shot past her head and slammed into the ground, continuing to spin as if it hadn't just ploughed through half a metre of earth. Kai was only a split second later in standing between her and the two new beybladers.

Li Mei's arm was still out from launching her beyblade, her expression now completely blank. "How do you have Black Dranzer?"

Kai felt his anger boiling as he briefly looked back behind him. Hilary took a step back in fear, her breaths still coming out short and sharp as she tried to calm herself down. Kai readied his launcher, refusing to answer her question on Hilary's behalf.

A superior smirk grew across Li Mei's face and she caught her beyblade, readying for battle again. "No matter; we'll just take it once the pests are out of the way."

Kai remained silent, glancing up to Ren to see that he had not brought out his beyblade to battle. Shifting his attention back to Li Mei, Kai tightened the grip on his launcher. Out of the corner of his eye, Kai watched the Saint Shields grab their beyblades and prepare themselves.

Li Mei's look became eager and yet somehow disappointed at the same time, "Beating you will be fun, but it's a shame you don't even have bit beasts to give me, isn't that right?" She sneered at the Saint Shields, who glared at her in defiance.

Her eyes then shifted between Hilary and Kai. "I'll tell you what, you bet your dark bit beasts and I'll promise to release the bit beasts _I've_ captured if I lose."

Kai narrowed his eyes at her, but saw no reason not to. After all, he needed her to battle him in order to get Galux back. "Fine then."

"Kai!" Hilary exclaimed in horror, and he didn't even need to turn around to know she was worried about him.

Instead, Kai ignored her and tightened his grip on his launcher as the countdown began. "Three, two, one, let it rip!"

Kai and Li Mei's beyblades shot straight forward, meeting in mid-air and crashing back towards their masters. The Saint Shields also launched their beyblades and the five surrounded Black Dragoon. Li Mei smirked, flicking her hair lazily from her face.

"Watch and learn." Black Dragoon picked out Dunga's beyblade and started striking it again and again until it spun into the air and fell back down to the ground in a hundred pieces. "You aren't even a challenge to my Black Dragoon!"

Kai, sensing her attention was still on mocking Dunga, sent Dranzer on a course towards her beyblade, sideswiping it when it attempted to dodge and sending it reeling.

Kai smirked at her, "I thought you said you were going to destroy us."

Li Mei's expression darkened considerably and the bit of her beyblade began to glow pink. "Galux, shred them!"

The mountain cat shot from the bit and made straight towards Kai's unprotected beyblade, letting out an intimidating yowl. Kai dove to the side just in time and recovered quickly, sending his beyblade to collide with hers. Li Mei moved out of the way easily and turned to taunt him, but instead had to double back as he spun and kicked his leg high into the air, his beyblade reversing to counterattack in the air.

Recovering just in time, Li Mei ducked backwards underneath the kick in a way that almost seemed to defy Physics, but she had no time to celebrate as Ozuma aimed a low shot at her, Flash Leopard following close behind. In an incredible feat, she jumped up and twisted between their two attacks, landing in a clear area. However, it only took her a few seconds to realise the trap that had been set when she looked to the side opposite where Ozuma and Kai were standing to see Marium and Joseph standing ready. Now Li Mei was breathing heavily, her eyes quickly shifting from one beyblader to another like a caged animal in an attempt to figure out how to stop them and coming to the slow realisation that she had grossly underestimated them.

While the three Saint Shields still standing each shared a triumphant look, Kai watched her with a serious expression, but attacked with the others as they charged towards her. Li Mei grit her teeth as the four beyblades slammed into hers, trapping it in the middle with a screech of metal that sent sparks flying. She crouched in a defensive position, glancing around at her opponents who continued to surround her.

Just when Hilary was ready to celebrate their victory, a vicious smirk spread across Li Mei's face. "I had hoped we could settle this civilly, but it seems that play time is over. Black Dragoon, Black Storm Attack!"

Kai, Ozuma, Marium and Joseph had no time to brace themselves as they were sent flying by the dark wind that suddenly shot from her beyblade. Li Mei's triumphant cackles could just be heard above the shattering of metal.

"To think you actually thought you stood a chance against me. I'll make you suffer for ever thinking you could defy my power!"

Hilary attempted to brace herself against the powerful attack, watching the scene in horror, her eyes moving from one Saint Shield to another, all beaten on the ground. Kai was on the other side of the dark vortex that seemed to suck away every bit of light, making it impossible for her to know if he was okay. Feeling something hot, she pulled out Black Dranzer, whose bit was glowing an eerie almost-blue-black colour that made it difficult to tell whether it was emitting light or absorbing it. Hilary clutched the beyblade tightly and looked around desperately.

"Kai!" She shouted, though her voice was easily carried away by the raging winds.

* * *

"Kai!"

Kai opened his eyes to the distant, almost indistinguishable noise, only to see a nothing he could only describe as darkness. Twisting around, Kai attempted to see anything, but he couldn't even feel the wind that had been so strong only moments ago. He opened his mouth, but no sound came out. Finally, as the panic was beginning to set in, he caught a glimmer of light slowly floating down towards him.

Not even thinking, he held out his hand to catch the glowing object in his outstretched palm. It was soft and as Kai's eyes adjusted to the new light he realised it was a white feather. Out of curiosity, he brought the feather close to his face, but other glimmers caught his eye and he looked up again.

It was like the beginning of a snowstorm, with a few white feathers floating to the ground at first, increasing in density as time passed. As their numbers continued to increase, he began to notice the newer feathers falling seemed to be becoming redder. Letting one of the red feathers drop into his hand, Kai almost pulled back when he felt the sharp heat coming from it.

"Dranzer?"

The feathers had begun to fall so thick that Kai was almost blinded by the reddening light. Just as he brought his arm up to shield his eyes, Kai saw the feathers swirl around in a huge circle. Suddenly, they burst out in all directions, losing their glow as they fell to the ground and a great screech emitted from the giant bit beast that had beat its wings wide to disperse the feathers.

Kai fell to his knees at the sight of the vermillion bird towering over him. It cocked its head to the side in a questioning way before stepping towards him, shrinking in size as it approached him until it was the size of a peacock only an arm's length away. It let out a coo that almost sounded like 'what took you so long?'

Hand shaking in disbelief, Kai brought it forward and held the bird's head with his fingers. Dranzer seemed content to let him touch her, especially when he began scratching the feathers under her neck.

"You're back." He barely said above a whisper, his disbelief evident.

Suddenly, Dranzer shook him off and flapped open her wings. Kai rocked back onto his heels, a thousand questions on his tongue but didn't have time to react as she suddenly shot towards him with a shriek.

* * *

Li Mei walked past each of the Saint Shields slumped on the ground in defeat a triumphant smile on her face. Her beyblade continued to spin lazily, mocking everything around it. Kai was slumped back against the tree she walked towards slowly.

Pushing herself up with shaky hands, having been knocked over by the raging winds, Hilary looked up in horror as Li Mei walked closer and closer. Hilary tried to push herself up, but the impact of the dark blast seemingly made it impossible for her to stand. She tried to shout to warn Kai, but it came out as a tiny whimper. Tears of frustration gathered in her eyes, threatening to fall.

Just as Li Mei was about to reach him, Dranzer shot out of nowhere to spin in front of him, as if defending him. A soft glow surrounded the beyblade and Li Mei took an unsure step back at the new development. Ren, standing to the side with his arms crossed, watched with a carefully blank expression, though his eyes gave away his curiosity.

Without any warning Kai's eyes shot open, glowing a bright white. Li Mei fell backwards in surprise as Kai stood, flames seemingly surrounding him without any obvious source. Seemingly possessed, Kai lifted one of his arms towards his beyblade and the fire around him separated, part of it leaving through his outstretched hand and taking the form of a bird. With a screech, the firebird shot towards the beyblade, enveloping it in flames.

Placing his hands in his pockets; Kai's dark red eyes, which had returned to normal despite his body still being enveloped in flames, calmly watched Li Mei stumble backwards. Li Mei glared at him, letting out a growl of anger.

"Trying to intimidate me are you?"

A smirk crept onto one side of his face as he stared her down in what almost looked like pity. "Apparently I don't even need to try."

There was a pause as the wind picked up, sending a cold rush of air through the clearing. Nothing seemed to move. It seemed as if the Earth itself was still in anticipation.

"Dranzer, finish her off!" Kai shouted.

The beautiful firebird rose from the beyblade, its fiery wings spreading out as it let out a screech. It towered far above the field, making Black Dragoon look much smaller in comparison. Li Mei took a step back, shaking her head in disbelief. She looked towards Kai for confirmation of the great creature before her, but he continued to watch her calmly.

"It's over, Li Mei." He said with finality.

Black Dragoon's wielder crouched down, gritting her teeth in frustration. She squeezed her eyes shut in denial, before they opened again, snapping up to meet Kai's eyes.

"You won't finish me that easily. Black Dragoon, Galux!"

The two bit beasts shot from her beyblade and rushed at the much larger Dranzer, who beat its wings, raining down flame-wreathed feathers that pierced the two bit beasts.

Kai looked up at the great bit beast, shouting, "Dranzer, Berserk Flame!"

Suddenly, the flames that surrounded the scattered feathers from Dranzer's attack turned white and spiralled into a firestorm that engulfed the bit beasts, who gave out hideous cries, before fading away, seemingly eaten by the flames. The beyblade fell back, wobbling violently and Li Mei collapsed to her knees in defeat.

Dranzer let out a deafening screech before turning back into flames and, instead of returning to its beyblade, shot towards Kai, landing on his back and re-joining with the rest of the flames around him, giving the brief impression of him having wings before the flames died out into nothing. When the last of the eerie glow disappeared, Kai stumbled forward, collapsing to his knees in exhaustion. He glanced up towards Black Dragoon, determined to send his beyblade in an attempt to finally finish her off.

Suddenly from seemingly nowhere, Ren's beyblade shot in front of Kai's attack and knocked Li Mei's beyblade flying before Dranzer could reach it. Black Dragoon had barely recovered from that strike when Ren attacked it again, shattering it into tiny pieces. Li Mei let out a screech of agony, crawling pathetically towards her shattered beyblade.

"Ren, what are you doing?" She cried out in disbelief with tears in her eyes.

Ren walked towards her calmly, completely ignoring everyone else who he obviously didn't even consider a threat, despite the power Kai had just shown. Pulling out his newly redesigned beyblade he held it, bit facing towards her beyblade. The centre of his bit began to glow and everyone watched in horror as Black Dragoon and Galux were sucked into his beyblade.

Li Mei collapsed, her head falling to the side as she stared towards the shattered remains of her beyblade with a vacant expression. The Saint Shields began attempting to stand, but none of them had the strength to stop him.

"Ren!"

Everyone's attention turned to Hilary with her hands in tight fists by her side as if she was holding herself back from strangling him. Tears had formed in the corners of her eyes as she glared at him.

"How could you do this to your own teammate?" Hilary practically shouted.

Kai pushed himself back up and attempted to make his way towards Hilary, but it seemed Ren had other ideas. Before anyone could react, Ren shot towards Hilary and grabbed her, wrapping one arm around her neck and pulling her arms behind her back. He sent a look towards Kai, who had started to rush towards him, but stopped when Ren tightened his hold, causing Hilary to let out a tiny gasp.

"How about a trade?" He smiled, red eyes seeming to become darker as he spoke. "I'll let her go in one piece if you give me the other two dark bit beasts."

"Nice try," Hilary taunted, "but Kai will never…" She was cut off when Ren tightened his hold around her throat.

"Let her go."

"I believe I just stated my terms for that outcome." Ren countered smoothly.

Hilary looked towards Kai, eyes wide, but Kai calmly stared back at her.

"Hilary, give him the beyblade."

"Kai, you can't do that!" Ozuma shouted angrily, but being unable to move fast enough he could only stand and watch.

Hilary and Kai locked eyes and he gave a small nod to her. Hilary's shoulders slumped in defeat and Ren loosened his grip enough for her to take it out. Holding out the Black Dranzer beyblade, Hilary attempted to meet Ren's eyes, but his were solely focussed on the bit beast. He looked towards Kai, about to say something when he noticed the bit of Black Draciel between Kai's thumb and first finger. Without any protest, Kai tossed the bit to Ren, who caught it easily with a smirk on his face.

"Well Kai, it seems you finally have your bit beast back." He commented mildly, changing the topic entirely as he stepped away from Hilary and thus the others as well.

"So it would seem." Kai answered in a frosty tone, legs coiling like a spring, ready to jump towards him once Ren was far enough from Hilary.

Ren smiled at him and then turned his back completely on his opponents and walked away into the slowly receding fog. "Then I guess I'll get to add one more to my collection soon."

"Why wait?" Kai shot back, sounding much more confident than he actually felt. "I'll battle you right now." He threatened, holding out his launcher, wobbling a little on his feet as he did so.

"Kai, don't!" Hilary shouted in warning, moving towards him.

Ren turned his head enough to catch Kai out of the corner of his eye, seemingly dismissing him just as quickly. "You can barely stand, let alone fight."

Kai grit his teeth at Ren's snub and was about to push after him when he felt a soft hand grabbing his arm. He looked down in anger, ready to unleash his frustration and feelings of inferiority on the person, but the rage deflated as soon as he looked at Hilary's now tearstained face.

Kai relaxed his stance, letting his launching arm fall back to his side in acknowledgement of Hilary's silent plea. Ren continued to walk away arrogantly and behind them, the Saint Shields helped Li Mei to shakily stand.

"He's gone."

Kai turned back around to see Hilary crying again and felt at a loss. It was always so much easier for someone like Ray, who was understanding, or Max, who was sympathetic, or even Tyson, who was a friend to everyone who needed it. Kai was none of those; at least, never in the way people needed him.

Nevertheless, Kai couldn't stand her tears and, fortunately for him, one step towards her was enough of an invitation for Hilary to rush into his chest, tears quickly staining his shirt. Kai awkwardly stood there as Hilary cried with arms held tight into her chest. Slowly and unsurely, he rubbed one of her shoulders with a hand. When she moved up her head so that it rested just below his chin, Kai finally gave in and loosely wrapped his arms around her as if he had been forced to hug a tiger, rather than someone he considered a friend. Hilary seemed to appreciate it though, and soon her tears slowed down.

"You'll need to stop him before he gains any more power." Kai shot a withering glare towards Ozuma in annoyance, but the leader of the Saint Shields wasn't done yet. "Just remember, it's your fault he now has the power of all four dark bit beasts."

Kai unwrapped his arms from Hilary and turned towards Ozuma in challenge. "I'll stop him. Just watch."

Ozuma suddenly seemed more tired, looking over at Kai in pity. "I hope you still can."

* * *

**Please review. I have kept the names of the beyblades and bit beasts the same as the American version, but let me know if it has become too confusing to tell the difference between the two. I've attempted to make it pretty obvious in each case.  
**

**30/10/2011**


	14. The Calm Before the Storm

_**The Calm Before the Storm**_

The noon sun was continuing to burn away the last of the thick morning mist. Mariah found herself shielding her eyes against the glare and gazing towards the direction of the shrine, as if she would be able to see what was happening up there as long as she squinted hard enough. She let out a sigh as she dropped her arm and turned back towards the village.

"You worried?"

She glanced up over her shoulder to see Mystel crouching on a branch above her, holding his shirt in such a way that allowed him to carry a large amount of the mountain fruits. With incredible grace, he dropped to the ground and raised the pile of fruit towards the young White Tiger member, silently asking her to take some.

Mariah gave him a charming smile before picking out one of the larger fruits and taking a bite. The two fell into step with each other, strolling lazily along the path.

"I guess I am. We've heard nothing from the Saint Shields, and Kai and Hilary seem to have disappeared completely too."

"At least Galmon's back," Mystel replied with genuine optimism.

Mariah attempted to smile, but she found she could no longer keep up the act as she continued to think about what was happening. "But why haven't the other bit beasts returned? Surely if they've defeated one, they'll have stopped the others by now."

"Hey, have a little faith," Mystel reassured her. "Anyway, if they try attacking the village Lee and I will stop them."

Mariah suddenly stopped and she looked up at him with incredulity. Mystel turned to face her and tilted his head in silent question.

"What if we can't stop them?"

"Then someone else will. Don't forget the Bladebreakers are still out there. Tyson, Max, Ray and Daichi are all pretty tough. Plus there're the rest of the Justice Five, who I'm sure could give them a run for their money."

"I guess," Mariah conceded, but looked unconvinced.

"What are you afraid of?"

Mariah briefly closed her eyes and at first all she could see was that superior smirk. She could still remember the glow of her bit as Galux was wrenched away from her and how Kai had looked down on her, mocking her for being too slow, too kind, too weak to stop him.

"Part of me will never forgive Kai for what he did to us," Mariah started just above a whisper, and Mystel carefully placed the fruit on the ground before sitting down himself. Mariah continued to stand. "He had always been distant compared to the other Bladebreakers, but I never thought he was power-hungry." She looked away in shame. "Not like that."

"Maybe he wasn't."

Mariah looked down at Mystel, but he continued to stare straight ahead at a distant memory. Slowly, she sat down next to him and willed him to continue, but rather than clarify, Mystel remained silent.

* * *

It felt as if days had passed since Ren had taken all four of the Black Bit Beasts, but Hilary had to remind herself it had only been a few hours. The fog had burned away and now the sun was high in the sky above them. She, Kai, Li Mei and the Saint Shields were sitting by a steam that would eventually lead them towards White Tiger Hills. Water rushed by rocks, bubbling and gurgling as it moved towards its eventual destination.

Kai seemed to have chosen to sit on the largest rock overlooking the water. Hilary could only see his silhouette against the sun as he sat with one arm wrapped around a bent leg and the other leg stretched out before him. Due to the height, it was nowhere near touching the water. He looked completely lost in thought, staring out with a surprisingly blank expression.

Hilary smiled to herself and scrambled up the rocks to sit beside him, her feet dangling back down the other side of the rock. Kai still made no indication he had heard her approach, so Hilary decided to lightly touch his hand that was supporting him on the stone.

"Hey," she said in an attempt to catch his attention, figuring he was probably ignoring her for some strange reason that only he could justify.

To her surprise, Kai jerked back to meet her eyes with a startled expression. Almost as quickly as it had appeared, his expression had morphed back to a more neutral look as he turned again to gaze over the water, but his shoulders continued to give away his unease.

"Did you have a nice trip?" Hilary asked, trying not to make fun of him _too_ much.

"Hn," was his only reply and Hilary watched his nose scrunch up in distaste.

Hilary rolled her eyes and looked back down at the Saint Shields talking amongst themselves. Her eyes narrowed at them, wondering what they were planning. They were certainly not the type to just sit by while something happened that they did not approve of.

A breeze rushed through the banks and Hilary's attention was finally drawn to Li Mei. The younger girl was crouched over the water, looking at her reflection with a melancholy expression. Hilary barely supressed a sigh and she glanced towards Kai again, who was still not paying the slightest bit of attention to his surroundings.

"Do you think she'll be ok?"

After what felt like an age, Kai finally followed Hilary's gaze to look at the young girl. With barely a glimmer of acknowledgement he slowly turned back. Hilary's eyes narrowed, though whether through worry or frustration even she was not sure.

"Should I be asking if you're ok?"

Once again, Kai turned to look at her in surprise and Hilary felt her stomach drop, worry overpowering any annoyance she had been feeling. Kai was always the one who seemed to know where he was even with his eyes closed. For him to be acting as spacy as Tyson meant that something was wrong.

She watched as Kai dug into his pocket and brought out his new Dranzer Berserk, gazing at it as if it had all the answers. Hilary leaned over Kai's shoulder to look at it and was surprised to see a blank chip in the middle rather than an image of the phoenix.

"Wait," she gasped in surprise, remembering the great firebird's appearance in the previous fight. "Where's Dranzer?"

Kai's grip on the beyblade tightened so that his fingers turned white. "The bit chip was destroyed, so she can't return to the beyblade," he began with a faraway look in his eyes. Absently he placed his other hand across his chest and suddenly the glow she had seen around Kai started to make sense.

"She's right here," he whispered. As if realising what he was saying, Kai shook his head abruptly, falling deliberately silent

"Well, it doesn't matter," Hilary brushed any strangeness off in an attempt to make Kai more comfortable, her worry for him growing. "For now we should probably concentrate on stopping Ren."

"Hilary's right, you can't afford any more distractions."

Hilary silently cursed Ozuma for listening in on their conversation. Both she and Kai turned to look down at the leader of the Saint Shields, who was standing in front of the others with a severe look across his face. Li Mei had also turned around and was now glancing between the two groups like a cornered animal sizing up which party was the more dangerous to her survival.

Ignoring her completely, Ozuma carried on. "Ren now has the Four Black Beasts along with two of the White Tigers' bit beasts, Metal Driger and all four of our bit beasts. You will need to retreat and return with the other Bladebreakers if you have any hope of winning."

"Hey, wait just a…" Hilary began, but was cut-off when Kai abruptly stood up in front of her.

"You forget I once controlled Black Dranzer. I know how powerful those bit beasts are."

"We're not sure you do, since you let Ren get his hands on all four of them!" Dunga shouted from behind Ozuma with barely controlled rage.

"Besides,_ controlled_ seems a generous term for your bond with the Black Bit Beast." Ozuma's eyes narrowed, obviously not finished with their lecture. "If you are too stubborn to ask for your teammates' help, then I will. The fate of the World is more important than your pride, Kai."

Hilary looked up to Kai, who towered over the four Saint Shields with arms crossed over his chest. "How exactly are you going to make me?"

"Kai," Hilary warned, but she knew it would be impossible to stop the impending argument.

Hilary turned to look at Ozuma, hoping to talk some sense into the two through him, but if anything he looked even more determined than Kai. Minutes, maybe hours, maybe only seconds passed before one of Ozuma's hands relaxed from a tightened fist and he reached for something under his cloak. The other three Saint Shields took a step back from their leader, each with varying expressions of worry and fear.

"Hey, Ozuma, maybe we should…" Joseph attempted to reason with his leader, but when Ozuma's expression remained on Kai, the shortest member of the Saint Shields backed away.

Hilary stood up, ready to talk both of them down for being stubborn idiots, when she noticed the beyblade that Ozuma had pulled out was _not_ Flash Leopard. Crouching down, ready to launch, Ozuma shot Kai a viscous smile.

"How about it, Kai? How much have you mastered your new power?"

Kai's arms slowly fell to his sides and his fists clenched until his knuckles turned white. It seemed whatever that beyblade was, Kai was suddenly taking Ozuma very seriously. Hilary did her best to resist backing away and instead stood up and grabbed one of Kai's hands.

"Kai, don't," she whispered harshly, but he appeared to ignore her in favour of keeping his gaze solely on Ozuma.

"Don't waste that on him, Ozuma." Marium stood leaning against a tree, but her eyes gave away the unease they all shared. "We need to find a way of slowing Ren down."

The next few seconds passed painfully slowly, but Ozuma finally lowered his arms and hid the mysterious beyblade away. He shot one last glare towards Kai and Hilary before turning around and storming away. The rest of the Saint Shields soon followed behind, with only Joseph sending them a worried glance before they disappeared back into the dense forest.

"You can stop them, can't you?" Hilary asked, walking so close that she could see that his eyes were now focused on her.

Li Mei also looked up at him from his other side and Kai's shoulders sagged as if a great weight had just been dropped on his shoulders. He refused to meet either girl's eyes.

"When I had Black Dranzer it took the combined powers of the Bladebreakers, plus Dranzer to stop me."

Li Mei huddled into herself, as if the situation would go away if she made herself small enough. Hilary, however, stared right back at him without any change in her determination to help him.

"What do we do now?"

Kai almost looked surprised as he turned to look at her. "You heard what Ozuma said."

"Yeah," Hilary agreed, "but we have to stop Ren, right?" She looked up to him, willing Kai to agree with her. "He needs us to help him, Kai."

"You can't stop him."

Hilary glanced down at Li Mei for less than a second before looking back up at Kai, willing him to do something the same way he had stood up to Brooklyn.

"Kai, please," she whispered desperately.

Kai exhaled sharply through his nose and his lips tilted up slightly to show his amusement. "Don't you get tired of believing in me?"

Hilary relaxed, letting a tentative smile cross her face out of sudden shyness. "Well, you haven't let me down yet."

Kai met her eyes with a thousand emotions she couldn't decipher. It was only in a moment before he turned to look down at Li Mei.

"I need to train somewhere quiet."

Li Mei looked between the two of them as if they had both gone insane. "You're serious?"

Hilary could practically hear his smirk when Kai replied. "I'm always serious."

* * *

A light shone down into the cavernous room below before a figure jumped down and landed in a crouch on the tiled floor. The light reflected off his glasses as he moved the torch around the room. Looking back up, he called to another figure standing at top of the hole.

"All clear."

Susumu Hiwatari jumped down to join his younger accomplice. He pulled out another torch from his pack and soon the room was slightly better illuminated, revealing ancient writing and pictures lining the walls and spreading across the ceiling.

"So what are we looking for?" Meng asked as he stepped over broken pots and bits of material from the ceiling that had fallen down over the years.

Susumu's light beam finally stopped wandering, settling on a large amount of writing carved into the wall in front of them. "This."

* * *

The sun was partway through its decent when Hilary first heard the crashing of water ahead of her. They had followed the river back towards the White Tiger village as Li Mei led them somewhere she insisted would be perfect for a little training. Birds chased each other above them and Hilary looked ahead to see mist rising from what must have been a small waterfall.

They scrambled down the rocks, reaching the bottom before Li Mei finally turned towards them. "Lee will probably be angry with me for taking you here, but it's where all our village's greatest warriors come to meditate and train."

"It's beautiful," Hilary commented in awe as she continued to look around the clearing, watching the light catch the water and creating small rainbows that threaded through the mist.

A movement on her other side caused Hilary to turn her head to look at Kai, who had discarded his pack on the ground and was removing his shirt. Hilary found her eyes drawn to the red, angry marks that decorated his back. They looked a lot better than they had, but they still looked very painful. Slowly he unwrapped the bandages around his arms and removed his shoes and socks. He left them in a neat pile with his beyblade, launcher and anything else from his pockets on top and walked towards the water.

"Careful, it's cold." Li Mei called in warning.

Hilary barely held back a laugh, sending a friendly smile towards the other girl instead. "Don't worry; Kai trained in Russia for a while. I think he can handle the cold."

She turned back to watch Kai step under the waterfall and sit down on one of the rocks with his legs crossed in front of him. He straightened his back so that the water was pounding on his shoulders and rested his hands on his knees.

Hilary put down her own pack and sat down with her hands behind her and continued to watch Kai. "So what's so special about this place?"

Li Mei walked over to one of the nearby trees and picked up some pieces of wood. "Legend says that this is the place where a great hero of our village first saw the White Tiger." Once she had a large enough pile, she walked back and began stacking them for a fire, crouching on the opposite side to Hilary. "While he meditated, the White Tiger warned him of an attack on our village, so the hero rushed home and was able to warn everyone in time. The villagers defeated the invading army and took on the name of White Tiger as our own." When Li Mei was satisfied with the pile, she started a small fire, bringing kindling to feed the flames. "Ever since then our best warriors have trained here in order to become stronger."

Hilary stared down at the flames as they licked along the larger pieces of wood. For a moment she just watched the fire grow, before she looked up to Li Mei. "So does the White Tiger team train here?"

Li Mei nodded, glancing uneasily towards Kai for a moment and then looking back at Hilary. "Though I guess the sacred spirits do not always impart their wisdom on us. After all, the White Tiger team didn't even make it to the finals of the World Championships this year."

Wood cracked, sending a small flurry of sparks into the air and drawing the attention of both girls. Hilary turned towards her pack and looked through it with a little unease.

"I don't think we have much in the way of food."

"That's ok," Li Mei replied as she stood up. "There's plenty around here we can eat and I know the plants well enough. We should probably aim to return to the White Tiger village tonight anyway."

Hilary nodded, about to stand up, when she remembered Kai was meditating where he probably couldn't hear very well if someone decided to sneak up on him. "What about Kai?"

"Don't worry, we won't go far. Besides, I think your boyfriend can take care of himself."

Hilary stopped short. "I already told you, Kai isn't my boyfriend."

Li Mei looked down at some mushrooms, picking one up before glancing at her. "Seriously? I thought you had just said that because you didn't want us to use you against him."

"Yeah, well, we're not," Hilary replied, holding out her hands to carry some of the food back. "Why did you think we were a couple?"

Li Mei shrugged, finding some more food and putting it into a small pouch on her hip. "Because you arrived together. Plus, the way he protected you… I guess I just assumed."

Hilary tried to smile, but instead it came out as a grimace. She looked back towards where they had left Kai alone. "Kai's always been a bit of a loner. To be honest I'm surprised he's put up with me for this long."

"So he can be a bit of a jerk then?" Li Mei asked, though it sounded like more of a statement than a question.

Hilary smiled, remembering the one member of the Bladebreakers besides Kenny who gave her a chance. She glanced back to the younger girl. "It's not like that. Kai always keeps to himself, but he really cares about people. He's saved my life more than once. I'd put up with anything if it meant me even denting the debt I owe him." She paused, thinking of his attitude before she had taken Black Dranzer from him. "Well, _almost_ anything."

The laugh that escaped Li Mei's lips was beautiful. "He's lucky to have someone like you around."

* * *

Kai opened his eyes to thick snow on the ground. As if his body was no longer in his control, he swung his head around to a dark form in the distance and began running towards it with all the speed he could muster. Snow hampered his movements and his thick clothes weighed him down, but that would not be enough to stop him reaching his destination in time. When he was only a few metres away, Kai slowed to a walk and crept cautiously towards what he now recognised as a body. He felt his heart clench in fear when he noticed all the blood surrounding it, bleeding into the snow and turning it red.

With shaking fingers, Kai rolled the body over to reveal a young man's face. The stranger's eyes had already clouded over and it looked as if a bird or two had already tried to take a piece of him. Despite not knowing the man, Kai felt hot tears fall down his face as his throat let out a horrible scream.

Like the feeling you sometimes get when realising you are in a dream, Kai felt himself drop to the side and onto the cold snow. Panting in exhaustion from the strange experience, Kai slowly gathered his breath back while the screaming continued behind him. When he finally recovered enough, Kai turned around to see a young woman clutching the man and rocking him back and forth.

A monstrous roar from his left caused Kai to look towards the snowy wasteland they had run from. He looked back to the women, who had laid the man down and now stood alert facing the direction that the noise had come from. Her hood had fallen back, revealing white-blond hair and bright blue eyes framed with slowly drying tears. She only seemed to pause for another moment before kneeling in front of the man and pushing him over to reveal a bow and quiver on his back.

Wrenching it free, she notched an arrow in and pulled back the bow. Kai wondered what on Earth she thought she was doing when he saw the sacred spirit that materialised from the distance. It looked like a giant polar bear with armour covering its legs and back. As it approached, it drew back its gums in a snarl even as the woman continued to stare it down with both fear and determination in her eyes. Her lips moved in prayer, the words carried away by the wind as she stood her ground.

* * *

"What is this?" Meng asked as he approached the writing, close enough that he could have touched the words if he decided to reach out.

"The story of the Warrior of the West, the first one to tame the White Tiger."

Meng looked at the characters, remembering them from the circle containing the four Holy Bit Beasts and the chamber that had housed the four Black Bit Beasts. "You can read this?" He lifted his glasses from his face in a desperate attempt to understand what was written in front of him.

"Unfortunately no," Susumu replied. "I have talked to many experts, but it has proven a difficult language to decipher. Admittedly, that is partially because we have found so few texts written in this particular dialect." His beam of light moved across to a picture of a warrior with a long sword at his side and a large tiger behind him carved out in white stone.

"This must date back before the First Emperor." Meng realised in awe as he approached the strange white stone. "I had never realised that bit beasts had been around for so long."

"Many believe bit beasts were alive in another form before even mankind. Others speculate that people themselves made wishes or prayers and the sacred spirits appeared in answer."

* * *

Kai watched the woman in awe as the beast let out another roar and began a surprisingly fast lope towards her. The wind whipped around the woman's hair, but she refused to flinch away. Eyes narrowed as the beast neared and that was when Kai noticed the red glow beginning to surround first the arrow and spreading along her arms and surrounding her figure. The woman, paying no mind to it, merely waited until the beast was almost on top of them before letting her arrow fly.

There was a screech and suddenly the arrow transformed into a familiar shape. Kai's mouth parted in shock as the four-winged bird from Bruce's excavation site shot towards the great bear and clashed in a flurry of snow and fire. The battle waged between the two spirits was brief, but deadly. Fortunately, the Vermillion Bird emerged the victor and flew back to rest in front of Kai and the woman.

"A warrior who hesitates is dead."

Kai looked towards the woman who still stared into the distance where the other spirit had fallen, but he knew she was speaking to him. It was then that something clicked into place and he realised exactly who the strange woman in front of him was.

"You were the Vermillion Bird's first master."

A smile slowly cracked onto the woman's face. "Partner," she replied. There was a moment of silence before she continued. "Those from a nearby village called on a sacred spirit and lost control, killing my husband. My remaining family were in danger, so I stood my ground in the face of innumerable odds." She turned to face him, the smile spreading wider. "Much like you, Kai Hiwatari."

"You know my name."

The woman nodded. "The Vermillion Bird appears to those who she deems worthy of her power and are in need of it."

Kai looked towards the fiery spirit, who met his eyes with its own. "I don't feel very worthy."

"It is not always the most virtuous who are considered worthy," the woman conceded. "Each one of you has had his own struggles that you have had to overcome, and you have done so as a team and as enemies.

"An enemy is resurfacing that has the potential to destroy you. Only as a team will you be able to stop them."

Kai's hands tightened into fists. "So, you're saying I can't stop Ren alone."

"The four Black Bit Beasts and the Holy Bit Beasts are not as different as they first seem," the woman replied mysteriously, her lips revealing a ghost of a smile. Then she stepped forward, holding the bow out. "Your partners must eventually become whole again."

Kai gripped the bow just above her hand and looked into piercing blue eyes. "You will understand when the time is right. Good luck to you, Kai."

* * *

The sun had almost set behind the horizon. Only a faint glow in the sky could still be seen, but the main light was now coming from the fire that Hilary sat next to. Kai had still not moved from his position and with each passing minute she was becoming more and more concerned.

Finally, unable to sit around anymore, Hilary jumped up, startling Li Mei, and began purposefully taking off her boots and socks and stepping into the cool water towards Kai. Honestly, didn't he bother to take care of himself properly? If he stayed in there any longer he was going to get sick!

"Kai!" she called as she began to approach him, knowing that surprising him would probably end badly.

She expected some sort of acknowledgement from the older teen, but he continued to sit, back ramrod straight and head facing straight ahead. Hilary reached out with the intention of shaking him, or possibly smacking him for scaring her. However just as she was about to touch his arm, Kai's eyes snapped open, his eyes looking both at her and somehow past her as well.

Hilary watched Kai glance up and frown at the colour of the sky. It still took another moment for him to finally begin to relax slightly, letting his arms fall into his lap. Hilary cleared her throat and Kai's eyes snapped back to completely focus on hers. He moved to jump into the water with her, but stopped suddenly. Hilary looked to see his legs were shaking and that he was gritting his teeth in discomfort.

"You okay?" she asked, already knowing the answer.

Kai shrugged his shoulders and slowly uncurled himself. Hilary waded to his side and gave him an encouraging smile. Kai gave her an annoyed look, but rather than shrugging her off, he sighed in resignation and wrapped an arm around her shoulder and slowly lowered himself back into the water.

Hilary watched him and braced herself for the extra weight, letting out a grunt in surprise at how much he weighed compared to what she had been expecting. Fortunately for her, Kai was able to support himself some more the longer they walked and soon the burden on her shoulders eased. They stepped onto shore separately and without even stopping by the fire, Kai grabbed his bag and walked into the forest.

Li Mei's eyes tracked him the whole time with a strange look on her face. Hilary almost thought her eyes were glowing in the firelight.

"What?" Hilary tried not to sound too defensive as she stood with her hands on her hips.

Li Mei looked genuinely surprised as she finally focused on Hilary. She tilted her head in question, asking Hilary to elaborate. Almost involuntarily, Hilary's eyes flicked towards the direction Kai had walked away. When she once again regarded Li Mei, the girl wore a soft smile.

"I wonder what wisdom they imparted on him."

Hilary's face pulled into a frown, silently asking Li Mei what she meant by the comment. However, minutes passed by and she continued to say nothing.

Leaves crunched underfoot and branches snapped back into place, swishing leaves and twigs alike as Kai soon stepped back into the clearing. He was now mostly dry, with only his hair drooping slightly from the added weight of the water that continued to drip onto his shoulders. He glanced between the girls and began following the river towards the White Tiger's village.

"Let's move."

Hilary shared a look with Li Mei, sighed and stood to follow, throwing her pack over her shoulder as she did so.

* * *

"Are you sure?" Bruce questioned while leaning over Hiro's shoulder to peer at the laptop screen.

Bruce and Hiro were working late into the night in an attempt to better understand the writing that decorated the walls of the Black Bit Beasts' prison... or shrine, they were not quite sure. The light from the laptop was quickly swallowed up by the large tent that represented their headquarters.

"I think so. We'll need to have someone come in and corroborate with us, or find another sample of this text, but I think I've cracked some of it."

Hiro glanced back to his father as Bruce stood up straight and folded his arms over his chest. "Alright then…"

"If it is a sample of text similar to that found around the Holy Spirits' site then you might just be in luck," a new voice called from the entrance to the tent.

Both men turned to face the newcomer, with Hiro's expression becoming more guarded. However, Bruce had the opposite reaction, laughing at the sight of the man standing in front of them with one of his own students.

"I didn't think I would ever see you again, Hiwatari."

Susumu smirked with obvious humour in his eyes. "You have missed a couple of places, though I am admittedly surprised at how quickly you found the chamber containing the Black Bit Beasts. A suspicious man would be worried."

"Hiwatari?" Hiro questioned with raised eyebrows. "Related to Voltaire by any chance?"

"Susumu Hiwatari is Voltaire's only son," Bruce explained, but kept his friendly expression.

"Though my old man would never admit to it. I was fortunate enough to have a good friend who eventually was my reason for escaping my father's plans." Susumu smiled sadly at Hiro. "Your mother was a brave woman."

Hiro pretended not to act surprised. "I know."

"Mr Granger," Meng interrupted timidly, "Mr Hiwatari showed me to a chamber containing information about the original White Tiger. We may be able to find out more about the Black Bit Beasts from it."

"Do you know what's happened to the others?" Hiro asked Susumu, obviously noting that Meng was no longer under Black Draceil's control.

"Not exactly, but I doubt it is anything good. The four are moving together, so I can only assume either Ren or Li Mei has all of them by now. They might still be working together but, knowing that power as well as I do, it will not be very long before they turn on each other if it has not already happened."

"You seem to know a lot about them," Hiro practically accused.

"I do," Susumu replied mysteriously and suddenly Hiro could definitely see where Kai had gotten his more infuriating side from.

Before Hiro could demand any answers, however, Susumu turned towards the entrance of the tent where the White Tiger team, plus Mystel were standing. Each wore a different expression with their attention on Meng, from Mariah's surprise to Lee's anger to Mystel's silent interest.

"Lee." Hiro barely heard Meng whisper the White Tiger's number two beyblader's name before the young man dropped to his knees with his head bowed.

Any fight that Lee had been considering seemed to wash out of him as he stared at the young White Tiger villager. However, he still walked forward in an intimidating manner, causing Meng's shoulders to curl forward. Hiro's eyes flicked between the two in an attempt to judge whether he should step in between them.

* * *

"Where are Ren and Li Mei?"

Meng shook his head wordlessly, obviously too afraid to give Lee a proper reply. Lee growled, quickly becoming impatient by Meng's lack of response, but Mariah stepped forward and touched his shoulder.

"Lee, he's obviously not being controlled by Black Draceil anymore."

Lee glanced back at his little sister and then towards his other teammates, who appeared to be just as adverse to him dealing out any punishment. Lee turned back to look at Meng, who still kneeled with his head bowed before them.

Lee growled and stormed out of the tent, knowing that it would do no good taking his rage out on Meng, but still feeling the need to act. "I refuse to stand by while those traitors are still out there!"

"Well, isn't this cute?"

He turned towards one of the nearby ancient stone structures and wasn't surprised to see Ren standing on top, white hair illuminated by the moon above them. His eyes almost seemed to glow and Lee recognised the expression that had been on Kai's face when he had stolen their bit beasts with Black Dranzer.

Lee gripped his beyblade tightly, the memories of that tournament in Russia flooding back. He heard Mystel step forward, but rose his arm up in front of the other beyblader, silently telling him to back off. Pupils contracted into slits, and the temporary leader of the White Tigers bared his fangs and readied his launcher.

* * *

Hilary let out a big yawn as the three continued to walk towards the village. She was so tired that she almost bumped into Kai when he came to a sudden halt. Hilary glanced up, about to question why they had stopped when she saw the bright lights from a beyblade match. Her eyes slid to Kai, but he had already broken into a sprint towards the battle as fast as he could go. Hilary glanced over at Li Mei and the two girls nodded to each other in understanding before running after him.

* * *

"Somehow I thought this would be more interesting," Ren observed with a superior smirk as he looked down at Lee, whose Galeon was struggling to even make a dent in the other beyblade's defence.

"Lee," Mystel began, but was cut off before he could offer support.

"Stay out of this Mystel. We might need someone to stop him if I lose," Lee replied, never taking his eyes off his beyblade, attempting to concentrate all his energy the way Ray had taught him.

"_Might_?" Ren let out a bark of laughter. "I suggest you say your goodbyes to your bit beast now. Black Driger, finish this!"

Black Driger shot out of its bit, straight towards Galeon, shredding the beyblade in seconds and sending the bit flying towards Lee, face-up. Lee looked up in frozen horror as Ren caught his own beyblade and the bit started to glow. Galeon's bit glowed in response and Lee fell to his knees, knowing what was about to happen next. He barely heard the click of a beyblade being secured into a launcher, but it didn't matter anymore…

Ren jumped out of the way just in time to miss a rain of fire from seemingly nowhere. A figure silhouetted by the moon landed in front of him and Lee took a few moments to recognise Kai Hiwatari picking Galeon's bit from the ground and placing it in Lee's shaking hands.

Lee looked up in disbelief at the other beyblader as Kai stood in front and watched him with grim determination. Staring into red eyes, Lee knew he was not looking at the same boy who had turned up only a few days ago and refused to beyblade. The pounding of feet behind him drew Lee's attention temporarily to watch Hilary and Li Mei running to catch up.

"Sorry we're late!" Hilary called out with a cheerful wave, her expression turning more serious as she slowed down to a standstill, her eyes focusing on Ren.

Kai turned so that he was facing Ren, protecting Galeon from being taken away. He held out his hand in front of his chest and the beyblade returned to its master. Kai then placed both hands in his pockets in what Lee could only describe as a deceptively relaxed stance.

Ren looked down from one beyblader to the other, with his eyes finally fixing on Kai. "Look who finally decided to show up."

* * *

**Sorry this has taken me so long to put up, but hopefully I've appeased you somewhat by making the chapter my longest yet. This was a difficult chapter for me not only because I have been very busy, but also due to the number of characters that I needed to include. Hopefully I've done everyone justice. Please review. The next chapter should be up within the month. **


	15. Not Going Down

**Hey, look I've actually produced an update roughly on time (give or take a few days)! I had a bit of a crisis about three days ago when I suddenly realised that somehow a month has passed since my last update. To say things have been a bit busy would be an understatement, but I wanted to get this chapter up as close to my deadline as possible without sacrificing the story. This chapter was originally supposed to be one long show-down but I've had to split it up mostly due to time, so I'm sorry that it's a bit shorter than the last few chapters have been. Still, I hope you enjoy it and I will get up the next chapter in roughly a month.**

**A big thank you to those who are reading and reviewing as well as those who have added this to their favourite stories list. It would be lovely to hear from you as well.**

**I was a bit stuck for a title, so I've taken it from one of the Beyblade songs I was listening to as I wrote this. I know people have different opinions on how much music should play a role in shows, but I always really enjoyed the songs in Beyblade.  
**

* * *

_**The Final Battle Part I: Not Going Down**_

"Look who finally decided to turn up."

Kai glanced over to Lee sitting on the ground, clutching his bit in a protective manner, before his eyes flicked back to stare at Ren. Nothing gave away the rage he was feeling except for his hands, which were curled into tight fists in his pockets.

From behind him Li Mei stepped forward with her arms out in an imploring manner. "Please, Ren, you don't have to do this."

Ren raised his eyebrows. "You'll have to do better than that if you want to get Black Dragoon back."

Li Mei took a step back in disbelief. "That's not what..."

"You know that's not what she meant!" Hilary shouted, stepping forward to defend Li Mei.

Kai withdrew his beyblade from his pocket. "Have you come to fight or are we just going to talk all day?"

Rather than getting ready to fight, Ren just looked down at Kai with raised eyebrows. "I'm ready whenever you are, Kai. The question you should be asking, though, is why I should bother with you?"

With apparent ease, Ren jumped from the top of the building and landed in a crouch before the other beybladers. Everyone warily took a step back except Kai, who stoically stood his ground as Ren slowly stepped towards him. Kai kept his eyes forward even when Ren walked behind him, circling like a predator sizing up a rival for the next kill.

"It's not like you have a bit beast to bet against me, and if I lose then I suppose you want your friends' bit beasts back. That doesn't sound like something I should agree to, is it?" he finished, standing once again directly in front of Kai.

"What do you want?" Kai bit out, annoyed that Ren was attempting to play games with him.

Ren smirked at him, turned around and walked back towards the structure he had jumped from. He caressed the stone column with a pensive look on his face before staring Kai straight in the face.

"I want you to tell me how you transferred a bit beasts' power into yourself."

While Kai specifically kept his expression blank, he heard the gasps and general shocked silence of the people standing behind him. If he was honest with himself, Kai had no clue how Dranzer had ended up a part of him, but if this meant he would be able to fight Ren, Kai could find it in him to bluff.

"Fine," he bit out, launcher at the ready.

Kai stayed silent as Ren began the countdown, launching Dranzer when Ren released Black Driger. The two beyblades shot past each other, skimming over each beyblader's shoulder. Dranzer used the structure behind Ren to propel itself back towards Kai, while Black Driger cut a large arc around Kai and shot towards the blue beyblade.

Finally, the beyblades met in a magnificent clash. Sparks shot out in every direction as both beyblades tried to push the other back. Kai glanced up to see Ren smirking at him.

Black Driger suddenly tipped itself up, knocking Dranzer backwards and putting some distance between the two beyblades. Dranzer recovered, spinning in the dirt in an attempt to slow its backward projection. Kai found himself blown back by the force of the attack, his hand dropping to the ground as he skidded to a halt.

Forming a fist, Kai pushed himself forward with Dranzer mimicking his movement. Ren barely stepped out of the way in time with Kai's fist glancing past the tips of his hair. Kai calmly recovered by switching his momentum in mid-air and bringing a leg across, towards Ren's head. Ren grit his teeth together as Kai closed in.

"Enough!"

Suddenly, Metal Driger emerged from his beyblade and let out a great digital-sounding roar. The shockwave forced Kai rolling along the ground, sending dust flying, until his back smacked into one of the buildings. Vision blurring, Kai slowly pushed himself up in an attempt to recover quickly enough for the attack he was expecting to follow, however his movements were clumsy and he found he couldn't push himself up on more than his hands and knees.

Through his fading vision, Kai could barely make out the blurred form of Ren as he stood up straight and brushed the dirt off his shoulders casually and mocking Kai as he stepped forward. Kai glared up at Ren as he slowly forced himself to stand. Out of the corner of his eye, he caught Kevin readying his launcher reluctantly behind Ren's back, about to join the fight.

"I suggest the rest of you stay out of this match, or it's only going to be worse when I defeat you."

Ren continued to stare at Kai even when he was addressing the other White Tiger members. With a little persuasion from Mystel and Li Mei, Lee gave his consent for Kevin to stand down.

Ren smirked. "The Black Tiger sees all. Frankly, this whole match is pretty pointless don't you think, Kai?"

While Kai gathered his breath he couldn't help the smile that began to spread across his face. A chuckle fell from his lips.

Ren frowned. "What, exactly, is so funny?"

"I guess had forgotten how much fun this was," Kai replied with a smile.

A growl erupted from Ren's throat. "Will you still find it fun when your beyblade's in pieces? Vanishing Moot!"

His beyblade barrelled straight towards Kai's Dranzer, who calmly dipped its front down similar to when Kai had battled against Rick of the All Starz. Black Driger was sent into the air, seeming to increase Ren's rage. Black Driger eventually found the ground again, bouncing around a few times before finally righting itself.

"Shark Crash!"

Black Driger began to slowly circle Dranzer, building up speed as the circumference got smaller and smaller. By the time it was a few centimetres from Dranzer, the beyblade was impossible to see and only a circle made of light could be seen in its place. Kai's eyes could just barely keep up with the beyblade's actual movement, but with Dranzer moving so much slower compared to Black Driger it would be impossible for him to act on the knowledge.

"Go Dranzer!"

Dranzer span faster, digging itself into the ground and kicking up dust around it. As Black Driger drew closer rocks began flying up and slowing it down, though Dranzer was unable to prevent Shark Crash's attack from sending it soaring into the air.

Kai rose one of his hands up towards his beyblade. "Now!" he shouted, swiping his hand down in an arc for Dranzer to follow.

Dranzer used the energy from the attack to plummet back down with even greater force. Although it missed Black Driger, a huge wall of stones rose up from the impact to surround Kai's beyblade. Kai looked up to Ren with a smirk, revealing that that had been his plan from the start.

"So, what will you do now?" Kai silently questioned.

Ren's hands both clenched into fists. "Vortex Ape!"

The beyblade charged towards the wall without any signs of stopping. Kai stood up straight, readying himself for the impact, barely bringing his arms up in time to take the hit that easily broke through the rock shield. Even then, Kai was sent skidding backwards a metre or two. Before the attack could do any real damage, however, Kai pushed his arms out, succeeding in dispersing the attack.

It seemed this time Ren was expecting Kai's deflection and before Kai could prepare for the next attack, he and Dranzer were sent flying by Flash Leopard's Cross-Fire. Pushing himself up quickly, Kai felt the next blow as Ren continued his attack, laughing at Kai's predicament.

"So now that we're done warming up, shall we get to the main event?" Ren asked with a laugh.

Kai silently counted off each of the five bit beasts that had individually emerged from the beyblade. Still to come were Mariah and Gary's bit beasts and the four Black Bit Beasts themselves. If he was completely honest with himself, Kai knew he did not stand a chance against that much power. Somehow his eyes drifted towards his father, who gave him a single nod of encouragement. Feeling some confidence returning, Kai responded to Ren's smirk with his own.

* * *

"I thought that was just the warm-up."

Ren's face slipped into an annoyed frown. "I'm going to enjoy wiping that arrogant smirk…"

Before Ren could finish, Dranzer smashed into Black Driger and sent it spinning up into the air. Ren growled, cursing himself for becoming distracted.

"That's it! Black Driger, attack!"

His beyblade landed, recovering quickly, before it then spun in a wide arc to attack Dranzer. Dranzer stayed still, before attempting to dodge at the last minute; however, Dranzer didn't get out of the way completely and was left skidding to the side as Black Driger clipped it.

This continued for several hits, with Dranzer attempting to dodge and Black Driger managing to graze it each time. Once again, Dranzer was sent reeling, struggling to recover as it wobbled from side to side. Ren laughed as he continued his relentless attacks, but a voice at the back of his mind was warning him that something was wrong. When he looked over at Kai, Ren noted that somehow he didn't seem the least bit worried, standing tall with arms crossed over his chest as if he was almost bored with the battle.

Ren was about to repeat the attack, but with some extra speed on the end to get a direct hit when Kai seemed to sense his change in tactics and suddenly, Dranzer was withdrawing further into the archaeological site.

Kai turned with a smirk and began running after his beyblade. With growing frustration, Ren chased after him as they wound their way between the various buildings, with Kai always managing to pull away just as Black Driger was closing in on them.

As Kai was about to go between two buildings to get back out into the open, Ren sent Black Driger forward with incredible speed to block his path. Using almost impossible grace, Kai turned down an alley with Dranzer following closely behind. Ren smirked, knowing that Kai had just made his biggest mistake after accepting his challenge.

No sooner had he chosen the alley did Kai seem to realise Ren's strategy. In front of him was a tall stone wall and the realisation soon came that he had not run into an alley, but a long ruined building with three of its walls still standing.

"This is my home ground, Kai Hiwatari. The odds were stacked against you before the battle even started," Ren bragged as he stood where the fourth wall once stood, Black Driger spinning lazily beside him.

Kai, who had been facing the wall still a large distance away, turned his head around just enough for Ren to see the smirk on his face. "Oh yeah? Come and get me, then."

Ren's fist shook in anger that Kai could exude so much arrogance even when he was trapped like a rat in a maze. Letting out a roar, Ren rushed towards the other beyblader, his beyblade leading the charge. Kai turned his head back and began running towards the wall with Dranzer at his side.

Just as Ren was about to catch him, Kai jumped up and used the wall to do a backflip over Ren, then landed in a crouch on the other side of him. Ren turned around just in time to see the knowing smirk on Kai's face as he turned away and ran out of the building.

Ren let out a cry of rage that almost sounded inhuman, not even bothering to follow Kai as he used his beyblade to smash right through the wall separating them. Glancing around hurriedly, he caught Kai just as he disappeared behind a column.

"Stop running away you coward! Bear Axe!"

Galzzly emerged from the beyblade and barrelled forward in a collision course with Kai, completely disregarding the column in between them. Ren grinned with satisfaction as his beyblade shattered the column like it was glass, forcing Kai to desperately jump backwards. For a moment, he had caught the shock and fear in Kai's eyes and Ren felt a rush of power coursing through his body.

Kai skidded back to regain his balance and watched Ren with a terrible look on his face. Ren smirked, silently commanding his beyblade to attack Dranzer.

"Cat Fight!"

Black Driger suddenly sped up quickly and Galux emerged with sharp claws that slashed at Dranzer. Before Dranzer could even recover, Black Driger had already changed direction and slammed into it from another angle, completely taking Kai and Dranzer off guard. With Kai still reeling from the last strike, Ren willed Galux to continue her attack, but instead of shredding Dranzer even more, the blue beyblade somehow moved out of the way just in time, causing Black Driger to overbalance and spin out of control. Ren glared at Kai and battle continued.

* * *

Meanwhile, the others continued to watch the battle from a safe distance with varying degrees of worry. Hilary's hands were clasped tightly together and every time she saw Kai take another blow their grip increased.

"I don't understand why we're just standing around. We all know Hiwatari's gonna get creamed," Kevin commented callously.

"Not necessarily."

Everyone turned to look at Hiro, who had not taken his eyes off the battle. Hilary glanced at Mr Hiwatari out of the corner of her eye and noticed his knowing smile.

"What do you mean by that?" Mariah asked with obvious curiosity.

"Take a closer look at Kai's beyblade compared to Ren's," Hiro observed, nodding towards the battle and causing Hilary to turn back and watch more closely with the others. "Right now Ren's power is much stronger than Kai's, but he's wasting a large amount of it due to inefficiencies in his technique. Kai on the other hand is a technically near-perfect beyblader and is slowly taking some of Ren's energy and using it against him.

"Kai has always been a beyblader who knows exactly how much he can take compared to his opponent. It's a long, drawn-out process, but if Kai can keep going the way he has been then he should be able to win."

Hilary watched on in worry. "But how long can he keep this up?"

Ren glared at Kai in frustration, not understanding how Dranzer kept slipping from his direct attacks. No matter how fast he made Black Driger move, Kai seemed to be one step ahead of him. He was using seven bit beasts and yet none of them seemed to be able to help him get the edge he needed to put Kai down for good. Ren knew he could resort to using the Black Bit Beasts, but what did it say that he could not defeat a beyblader without a bit beast when he himself was using multiple bit beasts? He could feel that Black Driger was looking down on Ren, wondering why he had chosen such a weak master. It was time for drastic measures.

Rather than rising to Kai's bait, Ren silently ordered Black Driger to stay still. Kai, seeming to sense the change in the battle, also pulled back with a slightly quizzical expression directed towards Ren.

With a clearer head, Ren finally noticed the shimmer around Kai's body that had been gradually increasing in brightness during the fight. He grit his teeth in realisation that Kai had been leading him on the whole time; that, despite Black Driger's obvious superiority in power, Kai had been controlling the match from the start. However, rather than the indignant frustration he had felt earlier, Ren felt a calm certainty that he would win this match as long as he kept a level head. Even though Kai had been using his power against him, Ren knew he still had plenty of strength left to overpower Dranzer.

Ren's lips pulled back to reveal the cat-like fangs associated with his village. "I can see why you're considered one of the best. My compliments for lasting this long…"

"So far it hasn't been that impressive an achievement." Kai interrupted with his face completely blank, though Ren could hear the slight mocking in his voice.

Ren refused to rise to the bait and continued as if Kai had not said a thing. "But I'm afraid this is the end. Bit beasts, attack!"

All of the bit beasts barring the Black Bit Beasts rose from the beyblade with teeth and claws aimed at Kai and Dranzer. Kai merely tilted his head up to stare straight up at them as they closed in and Ren had to question whether the 'blader was just insane rather than brave. Then, Kai closed his eyes and the fiery energy began to condense faster and faster around him. Just as the attack was about to hit, Ren barely caught Kai's eyes snap open and what looked like white fire begin to surround Dranzer.

"Kai!"

Hilary watched in horror as the bit beasts' light surrounded Kai, completely engulfing him and Dranzer. She started to run, but was held back by a strong grip on her upper arm. Crying out in frustration and fear for her friend, Hilary lashed out only to be stopped by Hiro closing his hand around her loose fist. She tried to wrench her hand away, but he continued to hold on with a grim look on his face.

"Let go of me. We have to help Kai!" She shouted out in desperation, glancing wildly from one person to the next in hope that someone would agree with her.

However, instead of anyone stepping forward, the others all looked away from her or stepped back. Confused, Hilary stopped struggling and looked to Hiro for an explanation.

"You can't help him."

Hilary looked down to the ground, knowing that Hiro was right. "I can't just stand around and watch him get hurt again," she whispered quiet enough so that not even Hiro could hear her.

Hiro released his grip and Hilary turned to see the dust finally settling. Silently she prayed that Kai was still all right. Her eyes widened at the sight before her.

* * *

"Looks like whatever Kai was trying to do was just a little too late," Ren thought with a smirk.

Black Driger moved out of the settling dust and came to spin in place at Ren's side. A glance towards Kai's friends confirmed their despair. It seemed even Hilary had given up on her hero. Ren felt a shiver of satisfaction at her defeated expression.

Finally Kai could be seen, head bowed so that his hair covered his eyes. His lips were pressed together in a thin line, telling Ren everything he needed to know.

The wind picked up in speed and slowly Ren's feelings of superiority were blown away as Dranzer was revealed, spinning directly in front of Kai and surrounded in white fire. Not only that, but the bit was glowing and Ren realised Kai had made a fool of him just before Dranzer emerged with a magnificent screech.

Ren looked up at the creature with awe. Her wingspan made her larger than any of the other bit beasts he had seen. Her gaze fell onto his beyblade before she dove with incredible speed considering her size. It was shear reflex that had Ren calling back out his army of bit beasts.

The first attack turned out to be a feint as Dranzer swerved around Black Driger at the last moment. Ren narrowed his eyes as Kai ordered Dranzer's final attack.

"Dranzer, Berserk Flame!"

"Bit beasts, final attack!"

The two beyblades collided, sending off shockwaves and causing the buildings to rattle ominously. Dust flew up and Ren found himself thrown back into a building that had been a couple of metres behind him, forcing the air out of his lungs. He curled up around his stomach, but kept his eyes open, desperately searching for his and Kai's beyblades.

The dust took much longer to clear this time and Ren soon was able to make out the silhouettes of the two beyblades. He grit his teeth in anger when he realised that neither beyblade was spinning.

* * *

"He actually pulled it off," Li Mei said in disbelief and Hilary couldn't quite hide her smile at the comment.

Suddenly she found herself in a choking crush as Mariah wrapped herself around Hilary's neck, punching a fist in the air with a cheer. "All right, Kai!"

Hilary detached herself from Mariah and glanced around to Lee, Kevin and Gary who all looked too happy for words. Even Hiro seemed to be proud of Kai's achievements. Mystel stood clapping a little bit further away with a huge smile on his face.

"Wow, he really is incredible!"

Out of the corner of her eye, Hilary finally caught sight of Kai's father. She almost did a double take when she realised he was leaning against a building with his arms crossed over his chest and a small smile tugging at one side of his face in the same way she had seen Kai so many times when overseeing training or when someone had done particularly well in a match. Hilary's smile widened and she willed Kai to look over and realise how proud his father was of him.

* * *

Kai walked over to Dranzer and picked it up, giving it a quick check to make sure there was not any damage. With a smile, he sent a silent thank you to Dranzer by gripping his beyblade tighter out of habit even though he knew she was now a part of him rather than in his beyblade.

"This fight isn't over!"

Kai looked over to Ren who was gripping his beyblade so hard that his whole hand was shaking. Ren glared up at Kai as he stood to face the more experienced beyblader. At first, Kai thought Ren was going to launch Black Driger at him, but instead the Ren loosened the grip on his beyblade and a nasty smile spread across his face.

Kai frowned, wondering what Ren was planning, but it seemed he was not going to have to wait long to find out. Ren looked down at his beyblade lovingly and began to speak softly so that Kai was the only one who could hear what he was saying.

"I have yet to use my true power and you have already shown me the limits of your strength. It hardly seems fair that I have all these bit beasts and you barely have one."

Kai wondered where this conversation was going, but decided to play along, throwing a cocky smirk. "Don't worry; it looks like you need them."

Alarm bells sounded in Kai's head when Ren's smile merely widened. "Still, I feel bad…"

He pointed the bit of his beyblade towards Kai and before he knew what was happening, a terrible screech erupted from the beyblade and Kai was met with the sight of Black Dranzer's dark form flying towards him.

* * *

Hilary could only watch as Black Dranzer's wings wrapped themselves around Kai, creating a sphere of dark energy that surrounded him. She willed her legs to move, for her lips to do more than just open and close soundlessly. It felt as if someone had reached in and grabbed her heart with his bare hands, preventing her from doing anything but watch.

She remembered the only other time she had met a dark bit beast before this whole adventure, when Brooklyn looked down on Tyson with a smile belonging to someone who had never heard of mercy. She remembered the fear she had felt when Zeus had shredded Tyson's chest and tried to bury him under rocks.

As the black smoke began to dissipate, Hilary could just make out Kai's form standing tall and clutching his beyblade tightly. For a moment, the grip on her heart eased at the sight of him unharmed. For a moment, she thought that everything was fine despite the dark smoke lingering around his beyblade and stubbornly clinging to Kai. It was only when Kai tilted his head slightly and she caught a glimpse of his face did her fear return ten-fold.

Kai looked down at his beyblade fondly, in a way she had never seen before. Hilary saw a flash of black attempting to condense in the centre of Dranzer's bit and a maniacal grin slowly spread across Kai's face.

* * *

**I'm not quite sure if it's better or worse that originally I never meant to end this chapter here. I can at least promise this will be the last cliff-hanger of the story... I think. Please review! Your comments (good or bad) really do both help improve the story and encourage me to write faster.  
**


	16. The Spirit of Dranzer

**Sorry this has taken so long to go up. I've had a bit of trouble wrapping everything up and to be honest I'm not entirely sure about the pacing in some places, but I'll leave the (constructive) criticism to you. The good thing is that this is the longest chapter yet!  
**

**It has been about a year since I finally decided to get back into this story and (almost) completely rewrite it. I have to say this is the first multi-chapter story I'm really proud of writing. Don't get me wrong, there are probably quite a few things I'd change if I went back, but I'm not left with a profound disappointment in my ending the way I have with my other multi-chapter stories (one reason I still haven't looked at finishing Those Who Dream to Hope). So here it is, the final chapter. I doubt it answers all your questions, and it is leaving itself open for a stupidly epic (in size) sequel that I'll most-likely never get around to writing; but I hope it still satisfies.  
**

**To anyone who might get a bit confused and hasn't seen the series in a while, the first scene is set in V Force when the Bladebreakers are attempting to master the MG core before their match with Team Psychic. Please enjoy!  
**

* * *

_**The Final Battle Part II: The Spirit of Dranzer**_

_Previously:  
_

_Kai looked down at his beyblade fondly, in a way she had never seen before. Hilary saw a flash of black attempting to condense in the centre of Dranzer's bit and a maniacal grin slowly spread across Kai's face. _

* * *

"Does Kai just hate me or something?"

Hilary stood with her arms protectively wrapped around her stomach, staring out at Grandpa Granger's pond. A fish jumped up and back in with a plop as the silence continued.

Max sat up from where he was lying against the wooden decking, propping himself up with his hands flat behind his back. He tilted his head to look at Hilary, confusion evident from his expression and in his voice.

"Why would you say that?"

Hilary hunched her shoulders in embarrassment. It was hardly a secret that she was harbouring a small crush on the captain of the Bladebreakers. Tyson had already teased her mercilessly for it (fortunately, when Kai was still at school). As she looked to the side away from Max she could hear the rustling of clothing that most-likely indicated Tyson and Ray's apparent interest as well as they sat up to look at her.

"Does he," Hilary asked, not particularly wanting to point out any specific times as they flashed briefly through her mind. She had barely been included in their little group a week and yet she could already count the times she had been in awkward situations with Kai on both hands.

Hilary glanced over at Tyson and instantly regretted it. He had a grin on his face that promised more teasing, but a light elbow in the chest from Ray put him in his place. Hilary's mouth twitched into a tiny smile at their actions, though her nervousness caused it to quickly slip away again. It seemed Tyson was in a good mood with her today because his expression finally sobered.

"Kai was the first one to accept you after Kenny, so I'd say he doesn't hate you," the World Champion reasoned, looking straight at her.

"Plus," Ray added, "he lets you train with us. Believe me, if Kai thought you were useless or if he didn't like you, you'd know about it."

Hilary slowly nodded, but was still unconvinced. She ran through what they had just said to her and her head snapped up to frown at Tyson.

"Wait, what do you _mean_ he was the first after Kenny," she practically shouted in question.

"Well, Ray and I didn't mind you being here, but to be honest we didn't know why you were hanging around with us when you obviously didn't know anything about beyblades," Max reasoned with a nervous chuckle and a slight cringe. "Please don't be offended."

"After you and Tyson accidentally tore up the practice sheet we kept on training, but nothing was working," Kenny piped up while still typing on his laptop, showing that he had been listening on the conversation the whole time. "Kai stayed up at night and must have resorted to the advice on your sheet, because the next morning he was controlling Dranzer with ease."

Ray nodded towards Kenny. "It's funny. I don't know if the old Kai would have given your idea the time of day, but then again when it comes to training he tends to take things pretty seriously."

While Hilary was appreciative of their support, she did not understand what this had to do with Kai not hating her. "Fine, but that isn't good evidence for you to say he doesn't hate me."

Tyson sighed. "Just trust us on this, Hilary. Kai does _not_ hate you."

Hilary puffed up her cheeks in frustration, already sensing the circular argument. "But _how_ do you know that?"

There was a pause that quickly became a tense silence. Each of the boys was pointedly not looking at her or at each other. Hilary frowned at the sudden change in atmosphere, but said nothing, figuring that they would tell her eventually. Finally, Tyson let out a long sigh (Hilary suspected he was trying to delay the conversation further).

"Kai didn't want anything to do with us last year. This year he does." He took a breath, but quickly continued when he seemed to sense she was about to interrupt. "When he's not at school, Kai's with us. He takes part in our training and even takes part in our jokes. _That's_ how we know he likes us."

Hilary looked at each of the boys in turn, who were still not making eye contact with each other or her, finishing with Tyson. "And if he didn't…" she trailed off, not sure she wanted to know the answer.

Tyson met her gaze with his own serious one. "Then he would never have come back."

"That isn't very reassuring."

Max smiled at her. "That's Kai for you."

Ray looked at Max and nodded in agreement. "Kai doesn't do things out of politeness. If you're in his way he'd tell you."

Hilary put her hands on her hips in annoyance, not understanding any of it. "And you just let him?"

"He's better that he used to be," Kenny piped up.

"That's no excuse," she shouted back, suddenly wondering why they let Kai walk all over them, especially Tyson, who seemed to rebel at anyone else telling him what to do.

"No, but we know Kai. He has a hard time with people, but he knows we're always there for him and he appreciates us. We don't need any more than that."

"And you trust him," Hilary asked.

Tyson grinned cheekily. "You're not going to accuse him of being a spy again, are you?"

Hilary blushed and was about to shout at him when the boys all sat up straight. Turning her head, she was met with none other than the topic of their prior conversation.

Kai stood with his arms crossed in front of his chest and a scowl on his face. "Is there a reason you're not practicing?"

The boys – minus Kenny – all stood to attention so fast Hilary would have laughed if she wasn't still suspicious of their so-called team captain.

"Oh hey Kai," Tyson stuttered out nervously. "How long have you been there?"

If anything Kai's glare intensified. "Long enough to wonder why you're not practicing."

For the most part the boys looked sheepish as Kai stalked over to Kenny and asked how far along they were.

"We should be ready for tomorrow, though it would probably be best to go over a few more drills today before showing how far we've progressed to Mr Dickenson," Kenny replied while typing into his laptop.

Kai nodded before he glanced to the other three. "Max you're with me. We'll work more on defence. Ray and Tyson, you two practice your evasive manoeuvres. I still noticed you were both a bit shaky on a couple of the turns."

Hilary watched in fascination as the others followed his orders without question. Even Tyson refrained from making any snappy comments. Hilary had a feeling it was not just the impending match against those weird beybladers from Team Psychic that had made them so organised.

She sat down next to Kenny with a frown, watching Kai as he explained to Max what the exercise was. Ray and Tyson had already started, dodging small obstacles as well as evading each other's beyblades, or sometimes deliberately getting in the other beyblader's way.

Suddenly Kai turned towards the two spectators. "Kenny, I'd like you to record our beyblades' movements."

Kenny nodded, setting up his laptop in a prime position to offer any constructive criticism to Kai and Max. Hilary stayed where she was, feeling a little left out, but not knowing what she could do to help. Later, she would insist she was just plucking up the courage to ask when Kai's gaze turned to her.

"Hilary, keep an eye on Tyson and Ray. Their movements should be sharp, so make them explain to you anything _you_ think looks a bit sloppy."

Hilary looked up at Kai in shock. His expression hadn't changed from seemingly cool indifference, but the small smile on Max's face from behind Kai as he watched her reaction told her everything she needed to know. Giving Kai a nod and smile to confirm she heard, Hilary walked over to Ray and Tyson's battle. Both were smiling when she arrived and she found she could interpret their silent response.

"_That's_ how you know."

* * *

Hilary just stared numbly as Ren walked up to Kai's side. She was still unable to see his eyes under his hair, but from the way Ren amicably placed a hand on his shoulder Hilary knew everything was going straight from bad to worse.

A click to the side caused her to turn her attention towards Kevin and Mystel, who had both brought up their launchers ready to fight. Her thoughts attempted to push past the fog in her mind, telling her to yell or something that might be considered the least bit useful. She thought back to the few attempts she had made to practice beyblading and how, even if she did have a beyblade, the skills she had only learnt from observing the sport would be useless against a mostly amateur beyblader like Ren, not to mention a World Champion like Kai!

Just before the beyblades launched, Susumu stepped in between the two parties, his attention surprisingly on Kevin and Mystel rather than the possessed beybladers.

"Don't do anything to provoke them. We can't afford to lose your bit beasts so easily."

Ren laughed, removing his hand from Kai's shoulder, who was still looking towards the ground with no sign of acknowledging anyone around him. "We might as well get the battle started. How about it? Would a two-on-two match be a reasonable request?"

"How about three-on-one?"

Ren's arrogant smirk slipped from his face and, no sooner had he turned to face Kai, he was sent flying as Kai suddenly backhanded him to the ground. Kai lifted up his head so that Hilary could finally see the smirk across his lips and the way his eyes looked down on everyone present. A chuckle escaped his lips that sent a shiver down her spine.

"And why exactly would I partner myself with you," Kai asked in an obviously mocking tone.

Ren sat up and glared at Kai, confusion and growing anger on his face evident. "I'm the one that created you!"

Kai's eyebrows pulled together in question. "Created me?"

"I gave you Black Dranzer. You should be obeying my every order!"

That horrible smile from before slowly spread across Kai's face. "Sorry, but I don't take orders, especially from people weaker than me."

Kai turned with a flourish and looked as if he was about to walk away completely when he suddenly stopped and looked down at his beyblade with a frown.

Eyes flicked towards Ren. "Give me Black Dranzer's bit."

Ren pushed himself up with a growl. "Make me," he challenged, bringing his launcher in front of him.

Kai raised one eyebrow, all arrogance. "Are you sure?"

Somehow Hilary gained her voice back just as Kai was securing his beyblade in his launcher. "Kai, stop this!"

Both Kai and Ren ignored her plead completely as they launched their beyblades. Sparks flew as the beyblades continued to grind against each other. Kai looked up with a smirk.

"If I win, then all of your bit beasts are mine."

Hilary watched Ren tense as Black Driger smashed into Dranzer, causing it to hop back before attacking again. "Just because you have one bit beast doesn't mean this match will end in your favour. Black Driger, attack!"

Kai folded is arms over his chest and closed his eyes in apparent disinterest. "Black Dranzer!"

Before Ren could even call out his bit beasts in defence, Kai had unleashed Black Dranzer. The bit beast let out a terrible screech, sending out a shockwave which threw Hilary to the ground.

Hilary slowly rolled onto her side, coughing up dust that had entered her lungs when she had fallen over. Opening her eyes, she saw that everyone else, including Ren, was also on the ground. Slowly she stood up on uncertain legs and tried to rub some of the dust off her face so that she might be able to see properly.

Kai threw back his head and laughed in a way Hilary had never heard before. "Come on, I thought you would at least prove a challenge for me."

With an animalistic roar, Ren rushed at Kai. This time, rather than taking the hits and using Ren's energy against him, Kai merely dodged the attack before ramming Dranzer into Black Driger from behind. High above, Black Dranzer let out a terrifying screech before diving at Ren's beyblade.

Ren let out a scream and Hilary's hands flew to her mouth as three long, thin gashes appeared on Ren's body, starting from his face and finishing near his stomach. The front of his shirt was torn to pieces and one hand flew to his face in front of the marks.

Tears welled up in Hilary's eyes, unable to look any more. "Stop it," she wanted to shout, but it only came out as a whisper that reached no one.

* * *

Ren stood up, clutching his face in a feeble attempt to reduce the sting. "You'll pay for that. Bit beasts, attack!"

Through his fingers, Ren watched as all of his bit beasts emerged from his beyblade, Black Driger leading the pack. Kai merely stared at the beasts with disinterest as they converged on him. A giant explosion kicked up a huge cloud of dust and Ren grinned, wondering why Kai had made himself out to be so strong when he could not even survive a strike from Ren's army of bit beasts.

However, as the dust began to clear Ren's grin slipped into a frown. Not only was Black Dranzer missing, but Kai was as well. Realising Kai must have used the dust to cover his movements, Ren began frantically searching around for any sign of the other beyblader.

Suddenly Ren felt the hairs on the back of his neck stand on end. "Behind you," a soft voice whispered.

Ren jumped back just in time to miss the main strike, but still found himself being thrown to the ground by the edge of Kai's surprise attack. Ren rolled to the side out of instinct, barely missing the next of Kai's strikes and allowing him to send Black Driger to counter-attack at point blank range.

Dranzer was knocked to the side and blood began to well up on the side of Kai's cheek, where Black Driger's attack had sliced past. However, instead of anger or fear, Kai merely smirked as a thin trail of blood ran down his face. Growling in rage (and a hint of fear he would never admit to), Ren sent wave after wave of bit beast attacks, relying on Galux and Metal Driger's speed, Galzzly and Black Dragoon's attack power and using the four Saint Shields' bit beasts for a combination of effective attacks to drive Kai and Black Dranzer further and further back.

Ren knew he could not afford to stop attacking as he continued his assault. With a final cry, Ren set all of his bit beasts on the attack. Black Dranzer fell back with a screech, kicking up another thick cloud of dust. Kai fell back even further, emerging from the other side of the dust cloud as he continued to roll along the ground. He finally came to a stop a few metres away, lying on his stomach, his face covered by an outstretched arm. Dranzer also fell back and spun slower and slower, wobbling more and more as the attacks on Kai's beyblade continued.

Kai was lying still, with the only sign of life being the subtle rise and fall of his back. Ren called his bit beasts to return, and he walked decisively towards Kai. Slowly, and with apparent difficulty, Kai began to push himself up off the ground while his arms shook with the strain. Ren stopped only a few paces away and looked down with a triumphant smirk spread across his face.

"What happened to all that trash talk, Kai?" Ren laughed. "I thought you were going to defeat me."

Pushing himself onto one arm, Kai spat bloody saliva into the dirt and wiped any excess blood from his mouth.

"Heh."

Most of Kai's face was obscured by his hair, but Ren could just about see the smile appear on Kai's face as he brought his hand down to push himself back onto his feet. Suddenly, Dranzer began to pick up speed, righted itself and charged straight for Black Driger. Ren jumped back in surprise in an attempt to avoid the attack, but Black Driger was not so fortunate and the clash between the two beyblades sent shockwaves that caused some of the nearby buildings to shudder in protest.

* * *

Hilary grit her teeth as the battle continued. Both boys were taking a lot of damage, but despite the torn clothes and shallow cuts, they continued to exchange blow after blow. Black Driger and Dranzer barely separated; sending dust and sparks flying as the two beyblades fought for dominance.

In her head, Hilary had to stop herself from automatically cheering for Kai by reminding herself that he would just take the bit beasts for himself if he won. Hilary squeezed her eyes shut, wishing that the other Bladebreakers were here to do something. Why had Mr Dickenson asked her to come when there was _nothing_ she could do to stop Kai from being overwhelmed by Black Dranzer?

Hilary's hands clenched into tight fists at her sides and she gritted her teeth to stop herself from doing anything. She repeated the mantra over and over that there was nothing she could do, but as she opened her eyes all thoughts of standing still disappeared. In front of her Kai was standing over Ren, ready to deal a blow similar to Brooklyn's attacks against him. Hilary sucked in a breath, knowing she could no longer stand by and watch. Without thinking, she ran towards the fight with as much speed as possible.

"Stop it," she shouted, grabbing Kai's hand and yanking him around to face her.

She looked up into Kai's face as he whirled around and saw the confusion morph into rage when he realised that she had stepped in his way. He rose his free hand up to strike her down. Hilary lowered her head, ready to take the blow, but stopped when she noticed Ren calling Black Driger once more out of the corner of her eye.

It felt like the world had been slowed down as the black lightning streaked towards her and Kai, who had not even noticed the attack. Hilary's limbs felt like lead as she tried to move as quickly as possible – to protect Kai. There was a scream from somewhere – maybe her own – and then mind-numbing pain.

* * *

Kai hit back against the ground with a thud. Only reflexes born from intense training saved him from a concussion as well. As he slowly regained his breath, Kai replayed the last few seconds as the girl – _Hilary_ – collapsed in a heap in front of him. The last residues of electricity flickered around her body, petering out as she lay painfully still.

Kai just stared at her as she continued to lie before him, taking tiny, painful breaths. The clear, sharp thoughts that had been there only seconds ago felt slower and foggier than before, making it difficult to process what had just happened. A great roar from his side cut through the fog and Kai focused his attention towards Black Driger, who was preparing for a second attack.

Reflex called out Black Dranzer in time to deflect Black Driger's attack, sending the dark tiger flying. Kai slowly pulled himself to his feet and watched as Black Driger crashed into one of the already-ruined buildings. He could feel exhaustion pulling at his muscles, coaxing him back to the ground. He shook his head sharply to clear his thoughts. Nothing else mattered but defeating this pathetic excuse of a beyblader and taking what was rightfully his.

"Hilary!"

Kai, having almost forgotten about the girl who was now behind him, turned to see the former owner of Black Dragoon wrapping her arms around the still-unconscious girl. As if sensing his attention on her, Li Mei looked up to meet his glare with a less intimidating one of her own. However, before he could say anything, she turned back to the other girl, pulling Hilary close to her chest.

"Hilary?"

The pained whisper barely reached Kai's ears, but it was still loud enough to startle him. Even more startling was when he realised that the sound had come from his own lips. His chest felt tight and his lungs felt like they were on fire. The feeling spread through him as he watched Li Mei attempt to wake Hilary. A roaring noise filled his ears, which was not coming from Black Driger and sounded like it was closing in from all sides. Kai brought his hands over his ears in a vain attempt to block it out, but it didn't work, and the noise kept getting louder until suddenly the screech of a bird at his back cut through and the roaring stopped, leaving only silence.

Kai looked up at Black Dranzer and suddenly his recent thoughts and ambitions for the match, which had only moments ago seemed so reasonable, were exposed. Kai grit his teeth in disgust at Black Dranzer for taking him over and at himself for falling into the trap and endangering his friends _again_. He released the white hot anger with a ferocious shout. His vision was momentarily blinded and he looked up just as a blaze of white fire headed straight for Black Dranzer with a scream.

* * *

Hiro watched on as clinically as possible as Kai collapsed to his knees in apparent pain, hands placed over his ears as if he was trying to block something out. His eyes narrowed, attempting to resist the urge to yell at Susumu for trusting Kai not to fall under Black Dranzer's control again. However, his cynical thoughts were suddenly cut short as a fiery white light surrounded Kai, morphing into what looked like wings.

The scream that emerged from Kai was one filled with both pain and determination and seemed to pull him to his feet. Hiro watched the sky as Black Dranzer tried to hold off the fiery white plumed form of Dranzer as it emerged from Kai himself. The two bit beasts let out twin screeches, but Black Dranzer was no match for the larger and stronger form of Dranzer, who opened its beak and swallowed the Black Bit Beast whole.

* * *

There was a blinding light emitted as Dranzer closed its beak, forcing the spectators to shield their eyes. Li Mei, with her arms still around Hilary, looked up to Kai, who just stared up at Dranzer without any apparent regard for the light that was blinding to everyone else.

"Li Mei," Kai started without taking his eyes off Dranzer, "get Hilary to a safe place."

Li Mei looked over at Ren, who seemed to be recovering from his shock, and hesitated.

"I'll cover for you."

Li Mei's head snapped back to look at Kai, who was staring down at her with a quietly calm expression. The small smile of reassurance was all Li Mei needed to take her cue and haul the still unconscious Hilary towards the others.

Kai kept his face carefully blank as Ren walked towards him, anger evident. "A weakling like you should never have been able to overcome the dark power on your own."

"You're right." At Ren's confusion, Kai continued. "However, you put one of my friends in danger. I can't forgive that."

Ren smiled nastily at him. "Who, your little fangirl?"

Kai narrowed his eyes. "Dranzer."

The great bird plummeted from the sky, right into Kai's beyblade. Ren barely had any time to call out Black Draceil in defence as a shockwave laced with white fire shot out from all sides of the beyblade. As the flames came towards him, Kai stretched his arms out on either side of his body. The flames dissipated as soon as they touched him, protecting the people behind him from harm.

Ren was not so lucky, the flames cutting through Black Draceil and causing it to evaporate with a horrible cry. Kai watched the dawning horror spread across Ren's face as the other beyblader realised that Dranzer was even stronger that Black Dranzer had been.

"You still don't have enough power," Ren shouted defiantly before all his captured bit beasts emerged for the attack.

Dranzer re-emerged from Kai's beyblade with a much more corporeal form than before. Kai felt Dranzer's passion pulsing through his veins as he launched into a seemingly head-on attack, dodging at the last moment and leaving Ren furious.

"Stop running away!"

The last of the shout came out as a roar and Kai was reminded of Brooklyn's transformation towards the end of their battle. He knew he had to end this quickly, but Ren still had more power, even if it was falling fast as he used more and more on failed attacks. Kai tensed, ready to stand his ground when he heard a shout.

"Kai!"

Mystel stood with his beyblade in front of him. The bit glowed and Poseidon emerged from the beyblade and headed straight for Dranzer. Barely a beat later Kevin and Lee stepped forward and released Galmon and Galeon to Kai. Dranzer let out a powerful cry and its flames expanded, causing it to grow even larger.

Kai glanced back at the people behind him, taking note of their determination with a smile. Turning back to face Ren, he watched as all the captured bit beasts poured into Black Driger, causing it to also increase in size. The black electricity became more pronounced and coated the bit beasts' body as it bared its fangs.

"Black Driger!"

"Dranzer!"

When they first collided, the two bit beasts appeared to be evenly matched, each barely giving any ground to the other. However, only a second went by and suddenly Dranzer was overwhelming the dark bit beast, pushing it back with greater ease. Kai pushed forward.

"Dranzer, Berserk Flame!"

White fire consumed Ren's beyblade, forcing it into the ground and sending up a cloud of dust. Even in the low visibility, Kai heard a pained roar and the tell-tale clinking of a beyblade bouncing along the ground before finally coming to a halt. With a flick of his hand, Dranzer span faster, clearing the dust away to see Ren on his knees and staring at his beyblade in shock.

Kai barely paid attention to the cheers behind him as the light from various bit beasts shot into the air and back into their masters' bits. He felt Dranzer's spirit leave the beyblade and rest on his shoulders before reducing itself down to a small presence of heat in his chest. Almost idly, Kai bent down and picked up his beyblade, before walking over to the defeated beyblader in front of him.

Ren refused to look at him, keeping his head towards the ground. "I guess I should have listened to you after all. You must love that you've been proven right."

"I almost turned on my friends for power, so you'd be surprised," Kai replied with a straight face as he held out his hand.

Ren looked up in surprise and a smile slowly made its way across his face as he grabbed Kai's hand. Kai pulled him up and they exchanged a half-smile before turning to the others.

Li Mei and Meng were the first to join them, checking their friend was fine while Ren stumbled out an apology. The White Tiger team members followed close behind and Lee stepped forward to have words. The brief exchange ended in a handshake between the two and Kai let a small smile creep onto his face for a moment while he glanced at the scene.

The smile turned into a look of trepidation as he walked towards Hiro, who had taken Hilary from Li Mei at some point during the battle. Hearing Kai's footsteps, Tyson's older brother looked up.

"Don't worry, she will probably need to rest for a day or two, but she'll be fine."

Kai nodded, but the reassuring words were of little comfort. He crouched down on the opposite side of Hilary to Hiro and slowly pulled her towards him, being careful to make sure her head was resting on his shoulder.

"Is there somewhere…" Kai found he could not finish what he wanted to ask.

"There's a spare room that the White Tiger villagers built for us," Hiro explained as he stood up and towered over Kai with a smile. "You should take her there."

Kai nodded absently and carried Hilary towards the building, leaving the others to celebrate.

* * *

Hilary woke up in a comfortable bed and for a moment thought her room had been swapped around. As her brain slowly caught up with her senses, Hilary remembered the events from Mr Dickenson's proposition to Kai gaining Black Dranzer…

The last thought made Hilary sit bolt upright, and then fold in on herself as she attempted to stop her vision from swimming. Slowly her eyes took in her surroundings: a room only lit by the sunlight forcing its way through small cracks in the walls, a simple table by her bedside and a figure hunched by the door with one arm providing a probably uncomfortable pillow between his knees and his forehead. Hilary slowly and carefully eased herself out of bed. Her legs threatened to give out, but continued to hold her up as she stumbled towards him.

Kai's face was as severe in sleep as it was normally, which came as little surprise to Hilary. She was almost surprised he had not woken yet, considering she hadn't been the quietest when walking over. However, as she crouched in front of him, Hilary noticed the dark circles under his eyes and began to wonder how long she had been asleep.

Deciding he was probably not in the most comfortable position and could probably use a proper bed, Hilary grabbed his shoulder and gently shook him. Hilary was glad for her improved reflexes from training with the Bladebreakers, but it still hadn't prepared her for the lightning fast hand that grabbed her wrist. She fell back in surprise and watched as Kai lifted his head from his previously trapped arm with a dangerous glare in her general direction.

"Maybe you should work on your facial expressions if your default is to glare at people," Hilary commented mildly, trying to diffuse the sudden tension.

Kai blinked at her, apparently using the time to finally focus on her face. The pressure around her wrist increased momentarily, then eased completely and Kai's free hand dropped back to his side.

"Hilary."

Hilary was never quite sure whether he was merely stating her name or whether he was asking if it was her, but nevertheless she nodded and attempted a smile of reassurance.

The next thing Hilary knew, she was being awkwardly crushed against Kai's chest. Due to her surprise, Hilary's arms had been trapped between their chests with her legs splayed out behind her. Part of her expected Kai to realise what he was doing and push her away, but when she attempted to reposition herself, he merely squeezed harder.

The dawning realisation that Kai had been seriously worried for her made Hilary relax a little, allowing her head to rest between his shoulder and his neck. With the little free movement she had been given, Hilary attempted to hug Kai back, only getting as far as his sides.

Slowly, Kai's grip on her loosened and Hilary readjusted herself so that she was kneeling in front of him. She gave him a brilliant smile, which he returned with a weary one of his own.

"You look like death," she commented with concern.

"You don't look much better," he retorted tonelessly.

Hilary huffed, puffing up her cheeks and turning her nose up at him. "Hmph." However, she couldn't stay seemingly mad at him and turned back with a grin.

"So, uh, how long was I asleep?"

Kai unfolded himself and stretched his legs out on one side of her. "A few days." He shrugged. "You woke up enough times for us to get food and drink into you."

Hilary nodded, not entirely sure whether he was downplaying or exaggerating how bad her condition had been.

* * *

The two walked outside to find the sun shining above them. Hilary had her arm around Kai's, not quite sure whether he was helping her to stand or if it was the other way around. They stepped gingerly towards the main tent where she hoped Mr Granger or Hiro would be; however, as the tent flap opened she was surprised instead to see Ren step out.

Ren froze when he met Hilary's eyes, tensing up in such a way that made Hilary want to tighten her grip on Kai for reassurance. Slowly he walked towards the two and Kai pulled his arm away from Hilary. She silently cursed him for abandoning her even if he was only standing a step away. Despite her feelings, Hilary forced a smile onto her face.

Ren's face broke into a smile. "I'm so glad you're okay, Hilary."

He walked over and pulled her into a hug that was much more comfortable than Kai's crushing one had been, and yet it was somehow less reassuring. Nevertheless, Hilary pulled back slowly with a smile.

"So, no more Black Driger?"

Ren's smile became wider and what seemed to be a small blush brought some colour to his cheeks. "The Black Bit Beasts have been returned to their original resting place, minus Black Dranzer, who has been returned to Mr. Hiwatari. It's all thanks to you and Kai."

Much to her embarrassment, Hilary felt a similar blush threaten its way to her cheeks and she attempted to stammer out a reply that included downplaying her role in getting him back to normal.

Ren stepped forward so that she was looking up at the other boy. "You must be hungry after being asleep for so long. Why don't we go and get some food together?"

Hilary smiled politely and looked back towards Kai to see if he was going to join them. He was leaning against one of the nearby posts, and gave her a small shrug before pushing himself off in a casual manner to follow them.

As they made their way to one of the other tents, Ren talked animatedly next to her while Kai hung back a little with his hands in his pockets as if they just happened to be walking to the same destination.

They found some tables laid out in a large tent with a small cafeteria at one end. Hilary recognised several members of the White Tiger village sitting down, talking and eating. In the far corner, Hilary spotted Meng and Li Mei sitting at a large table alone.

Hilary filled her plate, politely acknowledging the two before digging into her food with fervour. Ren sat next to her and Kai silently placed his tray and tucked into his meal with some of the most impeccable table manners Hilary had ever seen. She blushed, looking down at her own half-devoured plate and began to slow down. After all, they were no longer in a rush.

"So what are your plans now," Li Mei asked, directing her question towards Hilary.

Hilary looked at Kai, who was still concentrating only on his food. She refrained from sending him a nasty look and smiled at Li Mei instead.

"To be honest, I'm not very sure."

Ren looked up from his plate with a smile. "You're more than welcome to stay at the site for a while longer and see a bit of archaeology in action."

"Thanks," Hilary laughed, knowing he was asking her to stay for more than just archaeology. "But I think I've seen enough up close archaeology to last me for a while. Besides," she continued, "I need to get back to Japan before school starts again."

Ren nodded, understanding the hidden meaning behind her reply for what it was. A few moments later a smile broke onto his face and the conversation continued on to what had been found at the site and the possible implications.

Content to listen to the other three talk amongst themselves, Hilary stole a glance at Kai. Obviously sensing someone's eyes on him, Kai looked up to meet her eyes long enough to give her a nod of acknowledgement before continuing with the rest of his meal. Although she would never be completely sure, Hilary could have sworn she saw Kai's expression soften into an almost-smile.

* * *

Kai, Hilary and Ren walked back towards the main site, stopping when they noticed the White Tiger team and Mystel standing in front of them. Suddenly the tension that had slowly eased away came back ten-fold. Hilary's eyes locked on Lee, who was keeping his focus on Ren.

"Lee." Ren nodded his head in greeting.

Lee nodded back in acknowledgement and then turned his attention towards Kai.

"It seems I owe you for saving my village," he began, holding out a hand towards Kai.

Kai, whose arms were crossed over his chest, looked down at the outstretched hand. Letting out a sigh, he let one arm fall to the side as his right hand went forward to meet Lee's.

"Give me a good challenge at the next tournament and we'll call it even."

Lee laughed, firmly shaking Kai's hand. "It's a deal."

* * *

The Saint Shields watched the exchange from a hidden vantage point. Ozuma tightly clutched his Flash Leopard beyblade with his bit beast now returned.

Joseph turned his head towards Ozuma. "It looks as if everything's turned out ok after all."

Dunga looked between the two of them. "So what're we doing now, Ozuma?"

Ozuma narrowed his eyes as Kai and Lee shook hands. Without any acknowledgement of Dunga's question, he pulled his hood over his head and turned away, cloak billowing out behind him. The three remaining Saint Shields took one last look at the group below them before following suit. The Saint Shields disappeared into the mountain mist without a word.

* * *

Master Tao and Susumu watched the exchange from a distance and continued to follow their movements as Kai and Hilary turned to walk away. Tao's smile slowly dropped from his face, knowing that no one else was hearing or witnessing their conversation.

"You didn't tell him, did you?"

Susumu, who had been smiling happily, became serious, crossing his arms over his chest. "No."

Tao let out a sigh, but Susumu would not be swayed.

"They have come up against the odds time and time again. I think we owe it to them to trust they will see through the next threat just as well as they did the last."

Tao shifted his gaze towards his own team. "Perhaps." A pause. "What will you do now?"

At this question, Susumu began to relax again, letting his arms fall back to his sides. "Kai reminded me what I was fighting for." His expression became wistful. "I think it is time I took a page from his book and stopped running away."

A smile spread across Tao's face. Nothing else needed to be said.

* * *

"Flight JA438 for Tokyo is now boarding at gate 5," a voice echoed out from the speakers.

"Come on, Kai, the plane's already boarding," Hilary exclaimed while half-dragging Kai through the terminal.

Kai feebly attempted to pull himself out of her grip, looking annoyed or even angry to the casual passer-by. However, despite his protests, Kai was just as excited at the idea of being back in Japan as Hilary – he would just never show it.

Instead, he grumbled. "The plane isn't leaving for another half an hour and we have assigned seats. Do you want to sit even longer in a metal box that circulates other people's air around you?"

Hilary screeched to a halt and turned around to face him, forcing herself into his personal space in such a way that meant he had to look down his nose at her. He pulled his chin up in an attempt to increase the gap with little effect.

"I know," she conceded. "But I miss my family and the others. I know it's illogical, but I feel that the sooner we get on the plane, the sooner I can see everyone again," she finished with a smile.

Seeing that she wasn't going to move, Kai took a step back to widen the gap between them to a more comfortable distance. He shrugged to acknowledge her point and caught her rolling her eyes at him.

"Come on," she reasoned. "There must be something you're looking forward to when you get back."

Kai could not help a smile appearing at the memory of Tyson's challenge after his match with Brooklyn. In truth, he would be glad to spend time with everyone, but that battle in particular was something he had been yearning ever since Dranzer had returned.

Kai pulled out his beyblade and automatically looked to the centre, where Dranzer no longer resided. He felt the burning inside him become more intense as her spirit responded to his emotions. She wanted that fight as well.

Kai looked back to Hilary, who had forced him to keep going even when he was ready to forget everything and give up. His smile spread wider and he walked forward, passing a now-confused Hilary. He doubted he could ever repay his debt to her, but for now he could slowly attempt to chip away at it.

"How about making sure you improve your terrible launching technique?"

Kai glanced back to see Hilary go bright red. "Hey," she shouted, "who was the one that stopped that weird Hong Kong 'blader?"

"I seem to recall you losing that match."

Hilary huffed. "Yeah well…" his words seem to finally catch up with her. "You'd actually train me?"

Kai snorted, as if the very idea was preposterous. "I don't train amateurs." He turned to face her. "However, if you are looking for an opponent, then I would be willing to battle you."

Hilary seemed to get the hidden message and rolled her eyes with a smile.

"Last call for flight JA438. Could passengers intending to board please make their way as quickly as possible to gate 5," the voice interrupted their conversation.

"Ah! Now we _are_ going to be late! This is all your fault, Kai," Hilary exclaimed, while dragging Kai to the gate.

The two made it in plenty of time and sat down together on the nearly-full flight. Kai looked out the window, towards Japan, and smiled. Yes, it was good to be going home.

* * *

**Fin.**

**To those who might have questions on Kai and Hilary's relationship at the end: I have left it ambiguous in some ways to fit with the characters (or more specifically Kai, who would have issues with public displays of affection at the best of times), but also because I didn't want to force anything to big over such a short period of time. This is not to say they won't start dating soon as they've certainly come a long way in a short period of time, but that is up for you to decide.  
**

**A huge thank you to my reviewers from last chapter: .beyblade, Moonlight Serenity, syzygy101 (I always love new reviewers), 09sasha and cOOlzanimeaDDict. A special thank you also has to go to kaihil lover, who inspired me **** to get back to this story. Finally, I'd like to thank everyone who has read and reviewed at some point and those that review in the future, whether you have picked this up from the beginning or are reading it all in one sitting.  
**

**Since this is the final chapter, I would love it very much for everyone to leave a review. Maybe say something you liked, or something that could be improved? Regardless, thank you for at least taking the time to read and I've hoped you've enjoyed it.  
**


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